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Historical Photo Location Revealed: Bartram's Bridge

The bridge connects Willistown Township to Newtown Township, and so Chester County to Delaware County.

 
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Bartram's Bridge spans Crum Creek connecting Newtown and Willistown Townships. (Nov. 26, 2012)
Photos (3)

Photos

Last week's historical photo was the second in the series to come from the Library of Congress. The undated photo showed the inside of Bartram's Bridge. According to the LoC, which has many photos of the bridge and a historical narrative:

This simple covered bridge, erected in 1860, is one of the few covered bridges left in Chester County, and is the only one planned to preserve.

Commenter Eric Lewis wasted no time answering the question correctly. The same morning the photo was posted, he wrote:

Bartram's Covered Bridge, near intersection of Boot & Goshen in Newtown Square. 

http://goo.gl/maps/uHtrN 

http://www.historicnewtownsquare.org/historic-sites/bartrams-covered-bridge/

Rick Shouse seconded Eric's answer. Christine wondered if it was actually a bit farther north, as did Sharon MoranJill and Diana Genn. Christine wrote:

Or is it the covered bridge at Valley Forge Park? Yellow Springs Rd and Rte 252.

Susan was able to help point out why Valley Forge didn't quite fit the bill:

I'm deferring to you, Eric. The Knox bridge in Valley Forge was recently repainted and had a lot of wood siding replaced. Notice, too, that the planks on the floor of the Knox bridge run lengthwise, while the ones in the above photo run horizontally.

For more information on Bartram's Bridge and to view more historical photos, visit the Library of Congress.

About this column: Historical Snapshots is a collection of old photos and other remembrances of Malvern in years past. Related Topics: History Snapshot

Doug Humes

7:09 am on Wednesday, January 30, 2013

In 2010, Newtown and Willistown celebrated the 150th birthday of the bridge that connects the two townships, and their two counties. As part of that celebration, local authors came together and researched and wrote a book on the history of the bridge. You can find it here: http://www.historicnewtownsquare.org/store/ or at amazon.com. Lots of photos, old and new, and community memories - people who had their first kiss there, or wedding pictures, picnics, or special time with their children. All proceeds from book sales go to the restoration of the bridge, the last remaining covered bridge (well, half of one!) in Delaware County.

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Pete Kennedy

5:04 pm on Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Thanks for sharing, Doug. You might be interested to know that we just ran another photo challenge of a building right across the road from Bartram's Bridge: http://patch.com/A-ykrf

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