St. Mary's Covered Bridge is pristinely taken care of in regards to aesthetics. It crosses Shade Creek in Shade Gap, a beautifully rugged location. The bridge is certainly greatly appreciated by the local community, and seeing this is so encouraging, especially in light of all of the covered bridges we have lost over the years, including the 115 year old Dimmsville Covered Bridge in Juniata County in the spring of 2017. We happened to drive by the site of that old bridge on this same trip, and it was quite refreshing seeing this bridge next. It is awesome when communities work to preserve their history like this.
A satellite view of the rugged narrows in which the bridge is located.
This span is one of the rare examples of a Howe Truss covered bridge within the state, one of only four others. It has stone abutments, is 64 feet long, 13 feet wide, and the plaque on the bridge says it dates back to 1889, though this piece from the Huntingdon County Historical Society places the date of construction in 1886.
It was refitted with a steel I-Beam structure in 1982. The original bridge was reconstructed on top of the supports. It is also an excellent location for trout fishing, and it is located right across from St. Mary's Church. It is definitely worth a stop if you happen to be passing by.
GPS Coordinates:
40.204837, -77.877938