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Leaman Place or Eshleman's Mill, Lancaster County

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

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Inventory Number: PA/38-36-20#2
County: Lancaster County
Township: Leacock - Paradise
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Leaman Place or Eshleman's Mill
Crosses: Pequea Creek
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 113' overall, 103'-4" span
Roadway Width: 16'
Built: 1893
Builder: Elias McMellen
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N40 00.737
Longitude: W076 06.479
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 4.1 miles west of jct PA772 in Gap on US30, then 0.5 miles right on Belmont Rd. Northeast of Leaman Place.

Leaman Place or Eshleman's Mill Bridge, Leacock-Paradise, Lancaster County, PA. Built 1893
Fred Yenerall Photo (1958)

Leaman Place or Eshleman's Mill Bridge, Leacock-Paradise, Lancaster County, PA. Built 1893
Thomas G. Kipphorn Collection

Leaman Place or Eshleman's Mill Bridge, Leacock-Paradise, Lancaster County, PA. Built 1893
Bill Caswell Photo, July 28, 2013

Comments:
11-panel truss. Cost $2431. Also known as Leaman Place or Paradise or Eshleman's Mill or Evergreen or C. Denlinger's Mill Bridge. The original covered bridge at this location was rebuilt by Elias McMellen in 1893 for $2431. Still standing between Leacock and Paradise Townships on Belmont Road (T684). It was practically destroyed on February 18, 1986, when a tractor trailer rig struck the bridge and just kept going, breaking every crossbeam as it went through. After this, the sides seperated and the roof dropped about 2 feet, but amazingly, the bridge held together. The driver was arrested and the trucking firm paid for rebuilding the bridge. On Friday, May 23, 1986, it was rededicated and then opened to traffic.

Sources:
Evans, Benjamin D. & June R.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges, 2001, page 173
Kipphorn, Thomas. Information received by email, September 2005
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 118

Compilation 2026 Covered Spans of Yesteryear

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