Walter's Mill Covered Bridge

Walter's Mill Covered Bridge. . , Original Location , The Walter's Mill Covered Bridge was originally located over Coxes Creek, 4 miles south of Somerset. It was replaced by the Pennsylvania Department of Highways with a concrete bridge in 1961. At that time, the bridge was moved to a private museum located along Route 985. The bridge was donated to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in 1970 to become part of the Somerset Historical Center, at which time it was moved to its current location., Bridge History , The residents of Mod Township petitioned the Somerset County Court to replace a deteriorated bridge in 1853. After several attempts to get the bridge project approved, they awarded a contract for building the bridge to Jacob Walter for the sum of $318.00. It was completed in August of 1859., The original specifications called for the bridge to have a span of 45 feet from abutment to abutment. It has 8 feet on each end beyond the abutments, making it a total of about 60 feet in length. It was to be but using white oak or white pine timbers, white pine siding boards no wider than 12 inches, and white pine lapped shingles. , , Kingpost Construction and Arches , The bridge was built using a kingpost-type truss system to support the weight. The laminated arches, similar to Theodore Burr's arched design, were added c1905 to this bridge and many others throughout the County to accommodate the heavier farm machinery traveling on the roadways.