Historic Bridges of Chester County's Lower Brandywine Creek watershed

In the 19th century transportation was advancing and the building of wooden covered bridges was replacing the earlier fords along the Brandywine Creek. The earliest bridges were made from local materials by local craftsmen. Wooden timbers, roofing, and siding materials were typically made from oak, chestnut, pine, or poplar which were all readily available at that time. Stone for the foundations was many times quarried from hillsides along the streams where the new bridges would be built. As time advanced and industries changed, so did the technologies used in bridge building. The aging wooden structures were replaced by more modern designs and former villages sometimes faded from prominence. As transportation technology advanced the faster, heavier weight vehicles quickly began to degrade the early covered bridges requiring their eventual replacement. As we look back at the former sites of important bridges of the past, we can still appreciate the beauty of the Brandywine Valley our ancestors called their home.