York Furnace Bridge, c.1856.
I only knew of one photo that showed any remnants of the 1855-1857 bridge at York Furnace. That photo, perhaps taken in the 1890s, showed the remaining piers on the island.
Click here for the previous post and column on the bridge.
After reading my column about the bridge in the York Sunday News, a friend gave a copy of a much earlier photo to the York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives. It is shown above.
The photo above could have been taken no later than early fall of 1856, as there are still leaves on the trees. The bridge was destroyed by ice in February 1857 and never rebuilt.
Except for the extremely short life of the York Furnace Bridge, there was no way to easily cross the Susquehanna River between the Wrightsville Columbia Bridge and the Conowingo Dam before the completion of the Norman Wood Bridge in 1968.
Click here for Jim McClure's York Town Square post on the Norman Wood Bridge.
Click here for Joan Concilio's post and photos of the Norman Wood Bridge.
Can you imagine how daunting crossing the Susquehanna River was before there were any bridges at all? It is a wide river, much wider than many of the other streams in the country that are called rivers. The very early settlers would have relied on small boats or rafts. Ferries were then operated at intervals between York County and Lancaster County. While essential for continued trade and settlement, the ferries were not a speedy form of transportation. They were also dependent on the weather. The river could be frozen over in the winter, and currents could be treacherous other times, especially during the spring freshets.
I admire my ancestors for having the stamina to get this far a couple of hundred years ago. After surviving an average of eight to ten arduous weeks of sailing across the Atlantic, I think I would have disembarked at Philadelphia and not gone any further. Come to think of it, most of them did settle in the eastern townships of York County. Maybe the mighty Susquehanna was the last straw.
Click on the links below for more of my posts on the Susquehanna River:
New bridge at Wrightsville after Civil War.
U.S. capital could have been on Susquehanna.
YORK FURNACE BRIDGE
"A bridge was constructed across the Susquehanna at York Furnace in 1855. Mr. Jacob Huber, of York Furnace under date of January 30, 1897, wrote to Mr. George Steinman that the bridge in question was completed in 1855 and that on April 5, 1855, four spans across the river were blown down. Then the contractors, Messrs. Black and Huber, got the old timbers back and rebuilt the bridge again. On February 9, 1857, the ice took it away, just as it was about being completed.
Mr. Huber is evidently mistaken in his date of the destruction of the bridge in 1855, as the Evening Express, of Lancaster, of the date of April 14, 1856 states that "this city and vicinity were visited by a terrific storm. Four spans of the York Furnace Bridge were carried away, leaving nothing but the piers. It was certainly the greatest 'blow' we ever saw."
The piers of the old York Furnace Bridge remained up until a few years ago, when they were carried away by the ice freshet [of March 8, 1904]. The accompanying picture of the piers is from a negative made by the late William L. Gill, whose "hobby" was landscape scenery, and who has left behind him many views, which, but for him, the present day antiquarian and historian would sadly miss." (Quoted text taken from "Papers read before the Lancaster County Historical Society, January 4, 1907")
PA/38-36-130x York Iron Furnace East Tandem Combination Bridge (All in Lancaster County)-
It was a combination covered and open bridge. Starting from the eastern abutment, there were four covered spans, each slightly over 200' long, then ten open spans, about 60' to 70' each, to Bairs Island. Then about 550' of open road on the island itself. Total length of the eastern tandem was about 1,465'. The clear span is not immediately known, but the roadway was 18', the clearance of the covered spans was 14' and height above water was about 30'. It was built in 1855 by John Black & Jacob Huber.
PA/38-36-131x and 38-67-46x York Iron Furnace West Tandem Combination Bridge (Intercounty)-
Total length of the West Tandem was about 600'. The clear span is not immediately known, but the roadway was 18', the clearance of the covered span was 14' and height above water was about 30'. It was built in 1855 by John Black & Jacob Huber.
Dimensions from a profile made available by the Safe Harbor Water Power Co.
The two tandems likely connected either an extension of Bridge Valley Road (LR36136 - SR3038) that led from the elbow in the road down to the river, or an extension (the 1864 Bridgens Lancaster County Atlas shows this scenario, but ending at the river with no crossing) of House Rock Road (T407), both in Martic Township, Lancaster County, to what is now Route 425 (SR0425), Indian Steps Road, in Lower Chanceford Township, York County, with the bridge forming the base of a "T" intersection on that side.
At least some portions of the tandems were washed away on February 9, 1857, but some type of bridge was apparently at the site during the Civil War. Page 27 of a booklet commemorating the 100th anniversary of the burning of the 2nd Columbia - Wrightsville Bridge ((PA/38-36-129x, 38-67-45x) states: "It is of interest to note here that there was at this time a bridge at York Furnace spanning the river. There have been no specific records uncovered as to whether this spot was considered strategic, or a potential crossing point for an invasion, nor are any records of guard forces for this point listed in any sources investigated." Much of the site of this bridge was flooded by backwaters from the Holtwood Dam. Coordinates are close, but approximate.
39° 52.3295'N, 76° 22.4895'W
Want to add that the 600ft long Western Tandem was also a combination bridge. Starting from Bairs Island, which had been accessed by crossing the 1,465ft East Tandem from Lancaster County to Bair's Island, coming off the island was the last covered span, followed by six open spans, the last of which crossed the Susquehanna & Tidewater Canal and then to the York County abutment. This had been inadvertently left out of the original post.
Thanks Thomas. That adds a lot of information, especially from the Lancaster County side. I know where it ended at York Furnace, but I'll have to go over one day and take photos of the Lancaster site. I think the anniversary booklet is incorrect. Perhaps the writer heard a bridge was constructed there in the 1850s, but didn't realize how quickly it was gone. I found several references to proposals to build another bridge there, but none ever came to fruition.