Larkin Covered Bridge (Chester Springs, Pennsylvania)

Larkin Covered Bridge is a 60-foot-long (18 m), Burr truss wooden covered bridge located in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania near the village of Eagle. The bridge, which originally crossed over Marsh Creek, now spans a dry ditch and is a feature of the Upper Uwchlan Township trail system.

History

Larkin Covered Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Larkin Covered Bridge originally spanned Marsh Creek in Milford Mills, Pennsylvania
Location	Eagle, Upper Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°4′56″N 75°41′8″W / 40.08222°N 75.68556°WCoordinates: 40°4′56″N 75°41′8″W / 40.08222°N 75.68556°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1881 (original bridge 1854)
Built by	Wood, Menander & Ferdinand
Architectural style	Other, Burr truss
MPS	Covered Bridges of Chester County TR
NRHP Reference #	80003458[1]
Added to NRHP	December 10, 1980

The original Larkin's Bridge was built in 1854 to span Marsh Creek, a tributary of the east branch of the Brandywine Creek, beside Jesse Larkin's Gristmill near the village of Milford Mills, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southwest of its current location. The bridge was rebuilt in 1881.

In 1972, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania acquired the Larkin Bridge and relocated it 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north prior to the evacuation of Milford Mills and the creation of Marsh Creek Lake in Marsh Creek State Park. The bridge was used as a pedestrian crossing between two day camps in the new state park. Larkin Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.^[2]

In 1998, Upper Uwchlan Township acquired the bridge and in 2006 the township government worked with developers (Toll Brothers, Orleans and K. Hovnanian) to dismantle and relocate the bridge. Larkin Covered Bridge was rebuilt on the trail path next to the entrance to the Byers Station housing development on Graphite Mine Road near the village of Eagle.

References

Larkin Covered Bridge September 2010

1. National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). ARCH: Pennsylvania's Historic Architecture & Archaeology. Retrieved 2012-11-02. Note: This includes Susan M. Zacher (July 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form: Larkin Covered Bridge" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-11-17.