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G. Donald McLaughlin Memorial or Jack's Mountain, Adams County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: PA/38-01-08
County: Adams County
Township: Hamiltonban
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: G. Donald McLaughlin Memorial or Jack's Mountain
Crosses: Toms Creek
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 75' overall, 65'-5" span
Roadway Width: 14'-6"
Built: 1890
Builder: Joseph Smith
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N39 46.036
Longitude: W077 23.192
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 2.8 miles north of jct PA16 on PA116, then 0.5 miles left on Jack's Mountain Rd. (LR01053 - SR3021). About 1.5 miles southwest of Fairfield Boro.

Jack's Mountain Bridge, Hamilton, Adams County, PA. Built 1890
Fred Yenerall Photo (1954)

Jack's Mountain Bridge, Hamilton, Adams County, PA. Built 1890
Richard Donovan / Trish Kane Collection

G. Donald McLaughlin Memorial Bridge, Hamiltonban, Adams County, PA. Built 1890
Bill Caswell Photo, July 27, 2013

Comments:
This is the only surviving Adams County covered bridge that is still opened to traffic. Built in 1890 by Joseph Smith, it is 75' long, with a span of 65'5", a 14'6" roadway and a 14'3" clearance (Measurements taken during a 1992 field study). From the Harold E. Colestock manuscript Yesterdays Bridges-Old Adams County Bridges: 091 1890--"Jack's Mountain Bridge"--A covered bridge was built across Tom's Creek in Carroll Valley. It is on the Fairfield-Fountaindale Road, two miles south-west of Fairfield, in Hamiltonban Township. It is 75 feet long, constructed with a Burr Truss design. The bridge was built by Joseph J. Smith for $1,137, the contract was on July 1, 1890. The Gettysburg newspaper, Star and Sentinel had an article on the contract. A sign over the bridge says it was built in 1890, some researchers think it was built in 1862. It is now called, “Jack's Mountain Covered Bridge". After much protesting by citizens against a new bridge, the bridge was rehabilitated, in 1992, to handle heavier traffic. There are traffic lights at each end to keep traffic flowing properly. This is the only covered bridge in Adams County still in use. The Gettysburg Times had an article on this bridge on January 14, 1952 which says, this is state bridge #10, which was on the main route from Gettysburg to Pen-Mar and other resorts, two or three generations ago. This was before the new road to Zora, which by-passed Jack's Mountain Road, was constructed.

Sources:
Evans, Benjamin D. & June R.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges, 2001, page 17
Moll, Fred J.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges - Our Heritage, 2004, page 10
Kipphorn, Thomas. Information received by email, June 2013
Kipphorn, Thomas. Information received by email, January 2007
Colestock, Harold E.. Yesterdays Bridges: Old Adams County Bridges, 1997, Page 19
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 98

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