PROMM - Mark Podvia Talked About Covered Bridges!

Speaker Mark Podvia presenting his talk on covered bridges to our readers.

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Last evening, Mark Podvia spoke with our readers about a cultural item that’s not only a staple within the American countryside, but also has specific protections within our state’s laws: covered bridges. These covered bridges were mostly created during the 1800s and into the early 1900s, with some places still constructing them even to this day. And while they’re often times associated with New England, Pennsylvania contains the most number of surviving examples with at least 34 of our 67 counties containing authentic covered bridges.

The evening’s talk began with Mr. Podvia providing the definition of what a covered bridge is, as well as the different types of trusses used in their construction. Some versions are as follows:

• The Burr Truss (designed by Theodore Burr)

• The Kingpost Truss

• Queenpost Truss

• Howe Truss

(Illustrations of the various trusses can be found on the website for the

Theordore Burr Covered Bridge Society of PA.)

Mr. Podvia also discussed a number of specific bridges that were both still-standing and also those unfortunately lost to time. For instance, one engineering marvel, that is sadly no longer standing, is The Cumberland Valley Railroad Bridge. At the time it was built, this bridge expanded across the Susquehanna River and allowed for both train and pedestrian traffic to travel on it at the same time. While another bridge, formerly called the Northern Central Railway Bridge, continues to live on in the remnants of leftover pilings now made famous by Harrisburg’s Mini Statue of Lady Liberty.

Over the course of history, many of the bridges were done in by fire; whether it was due to an accident, or by intentional means. Mr. Podvia mentioned how tough their inner structures truly are and the amazing fact that some of them were rebuilt with original timbers still intact!

A few of the other points he spoke about were…

• The shortest and longest covered bridge in PA

• The world’s oldest surviving example (in Europe)

• A brief mentioning on China’s history with them

• The PA lawyer/judge who was responsible for the first covered bridge in America

• Some laws governing them

• PA’s change from abandoning the bridges to preserving them in the 1950s

• Reportedly haunted bridges like Dreibelbis Station Covered Bridge, Wertz Covered Bridge, and Lower Humbert “Faidley” Covered Bridge.

Almost all of the images in the slideshow were hand-taken by our speaker, as he continues to travel around and see the different covered bridges wherever they are located! And it was clear to see that our readers enjoyed Mark Podvia’s talk, as they had good questions to ask him at the end of his presentation.

We would like to send Mr. Podvia a big thanks for participating in his year’s PROMM Talks and we look forward to seeing you all at the next one in July. Until then…enjoy your current read!

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