Historic Sachs Covered Bridge

The 100-foot Sachs Covered Bridge was built between 1852 and 1854 by workers under David Stoner, using a design based on the truss-lattice support designs of Connecticut architect and civil engineer Ithiel Town. In 1938, the Pennsylvania Department of Highways declared it Pennsylvania's most historic bridge because of its connection to the Battle of Gettysburg and the uniqueness of its design as one of the few covered bridges of this type in the area. It was closed to vehicular traffic in 1968 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 25, 1980. During the Battle of Gettysburg, the I Corp of the Union army crossed the bridge on July 1, 1863, heading toward Gettysburg, and the III Corp also crossed it on their way to Black Horse Tavern. After the Confederate loss on July 3, General Lee ordered a retreat to Virginia. On July 4, while the Confederate wagon train was still crossing the mountains at Cashtown, the remaining bulk of Lee's army left the battlefield, crossed the Sachs Covered Bridge, and headed toward the Fairfield Road, today's Route 116, before moving to Fairfield and dividing to cross the mountains through passes at Fairfield and Monterey. Lee's army did not cross the Potomac until July 13 and 14 after Union forces had destroyed the Confederate pontoon bridge, forcing the Confederates to entrench at Williamsport until it could be rebuilt. On June 19, 1996, a flash flood heavily damaged the bridge, knocking it from one of its abutments and carrying it almost 100 yards downstream. The Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association, which was already overseeing a $500,000 restoration, raised another $100,000 for additional repairs, and with 90% of its original truss and lattice intact plus hidden steel support beams, the bridge was rededicated on July 21, 1997.

Pennsylvania · United States