Hassenplug Bridge
Hassenplug Covered Bridge, April 2010
Hassenplug Bridge is located in Pennsylvania
Hassenplug Bridge
Hassenplug Bridge is located in the United States
Hassenplug Bridge
LocationN. 4th St.,
Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania
Coordinates40°55′25″N 77°3′0″W / 40.92361°N 77.05000°W / 40.92361; -77.05000
Area0.1 acres (0.040 ha)
Built1825
Architectural styleBurr Truss
MPSUnion County Covered Bridges TR
NRHP reference No.80003641[1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 8, 1980

The Hassenplug Bridge is an historic wooden covered bridge which is located in Mifflinburg, Union County, Pennsylvania.

The oldest covered bridge in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (the American state with the most covered bridges), it is also purportedly the oldest covered bridge in the United States,[2] and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1]

History and architectural features

This historic structure is an 80-foot-long (24 m), Burr Truss bridge, which was erected in 1825 and overhauled in 1959. It was the restored again in 2021, a reconstruction effort which, once again, replaced the 1959 steel grate floor with historically authentic, wide, wood planks.

This covered bridge crosses the west or south branch of Buffalo Creek, and was named for the Hassenplug family of the early nineteenth century who lived in the brick homestead that is located on the north side of the bridge. The Hassenplugs were well known locally for their production of German beer. [3]

It is the oldest covered bridge in Pennsylvania, and is purportedly the oldest covered bridge in the United States.[4] However, this distinction is also claimed for the Hyde Hall Bridge in New York.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hassenplug Bridge.
  1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ Evans, Benjamin D.; Evans, June R. (2004). New England's Covered Bridges. Hanover, New Hampshire, USA: University Press of New England. p. 121. ISBN 1-58465-320-5.
  3. ^ "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2012-06-03. Note: This includes Charles M. Snyder (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Hassenplug Bridge" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-06-03.
  4. ^ Evans, Benjamin D.; Evans, June R. (2004). New England's Covered Bridges. Hanover, New Hampshire, USA: University Press of New England. p. 121. ISBN 1-58465-320-5.
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