voss adventures: Lancaster County, PA, Part 2, Covered Bridges

We had noticed this covered bridge adjacent to the highway, and found out later that it is the Willow Hill Covered Bridge, one of the youngest in the county. It was built in 1962 from material salvaged from other farms’ bridges.

That started us (me!) thinking of other covered bridges. I knew this county was known for its covered bridges, but read that a lot of them were damaged by the recent rains. We were surprised that we could drive across most of them!!

We saw this one on the way to Strasburg, at the entrance to a campground. It was built in 1844 , and one of the few double-span, double arch bridges left in the US.

The old Mill that went with it is still present.

I found some information online, and got a printout from the visitor’s center, and off into the countryside we went, searching for covered bridges.

Hunsecker’s Mill built in 1848, the longest single-span in the county, 180 feet. It was rebuilt in 1973 after Hurricane Agnes lifted it from the abutments and carried it downstream. The approaches to it were washed out in flooding earlier this month, but we were fortunate, it had been repaired, and we could pass through it.

The Pinetown was built in 1867 and washed off its base with Hurricane Agnes in 1972. It was rebuilt by Amish workers, raising it to 17.5 feet above average water level to avoid future damage. But it was severely damaged again with September's rainfall.

You can see on the side, water came higher than the bottom of the bridge, and debris was left on the side!

Wenger’s/Zook’s Mill was built in 1849.

During Hurricane Agnes, water rose 6 1/2 feet above the bridge floor but did not damage the bridge itself. (Marked by the small rectangle sign on the right)

Kellers Milll was built in 1891 on Rettew Mill Rd. The bridge was dismantled and replaced with a modern concrete bridge, and rebuilt at this present location in 2010. White is unusual for these bridges, and it is the only one in the county not painted red

This fence was just before the bridge, with all the debris collected on the fence from the recent flooding, the water was at the top of the fence. The water would have been at the floor of the bridge.

Erb’s Mill was built in 1849 during the time when thousands were rushing to find gold in California. It was later rebuilt in 1887.

I am surprised it did not get damaged with the latest flooding, since you could see debris on the underside, caught from the flow of water.

There are 28 covered bridges in the county, but we only saw these seven. Another trip needed to see the rest.
Along the way we also saw cane drying in barns,

and another Amish school.

After a few more turns, we came to Lititz, home of the original Pretzel bakery. The great grandson of the founder is still in charge! We found out pretzels were first made in 1400 as a reward for prayers. They used sugar instead of salt!

We took the tour, learned how to make a dough pretzel (out of playdough), and even got a certificate. If you were employed there, you were expected to make 30 a minute.

We then saw the original ovens they used to use,

and trays to raise up into the hot attic to keep them slow cooking,

and the machine they used from 1950 to 1980s to form the pretzel. This machine could make about 500 a minute

Now they use a form similar to this one, in a machine which presses the dough into the form and cuts it off, making about 3000 a minute.

We were then told our certificate is worthless since they do not hand roll and shape them anymore.

But it is a great souvenir, along with our bag of pretzels.

There is also another chocolate factory there, Wilbur Chocolate. No tour, but interesting shop with museum artifacts around.