Gibson's Bridge

Gibson's Bridge, also know[n] as Harmony Hill Bridge, was built in 1872 by Edward Hall and Thomas Schull. Prior to Gibson's Bridge, a bridge was built in 1870, but that bridge was destroyed in 1871 by a flood. The following year, the County Commissioners opened the construction of the bridge to auction, which received six bids. The original cost of construction was $2,666. The bridge is 78 ft. long and 14 ft. wide. The truss design used for this bridge is the Burr arch truss., Located two miles south of Downingtown, it spans the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek connecting East and West Bradford Townships. One of eleven covered bridges that originally spanned the East Branch of the Brandywine, it is the only one still standing. It acquired the name Gibson's Bridge from a local farmer, James Gibson, who owned the land adjacent to the bridge on the east. The trolley line that ran between West Chester and Coatesville once had a stop at the east end of the bridge. The bridge was repaired and strengthened in 1959 for $3,470. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd hit the region and cracked the support. It was repaired for a cost of $650,000 and took over four years to repair., [begin photo 2] , C. Marshall Incram. , Nathan C. Crimm. , Alfred Wood. , County , Commissioners. . , E. H. Hall. , T. E. Schull. , Contractors. , Erected A.D. 1872. . , [begin photo 3] , Chester County Bridge , Gibson's Bridge over East Branch of Brandywine Creek , Built in 1872 -- Rehabilitated in 2003 , Commissioners -- Colin A. Hanna, Chairman , ----- Karen L. Martynick , ----- Andrew E. Dinniman , Director of Facilities -- Theodore R. Jacobs , ----- Design -- Hunt Engineering Company Inc. , Construction Management -- McCormick Taylor and Associates Inc. , Constructed by J. D. Eckman Inc. and , The Chester County Bridge Crew -- Robert Torello -- Foreman , Bridge Plaque Funding Provided by Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society, . [begin photo 4] , This property , has been placed on, National Register , of Historic Places, by the United States , Department of the Interior .