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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Catawissa, Columbia County

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Inventory Number: PA/38-19-77x
County: Columbia County
Township: Catawissa - Montour
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Catawissa
Crosses: Susquehanna River, North Branch
Truss type:
Spans:
Length: c1150'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1833
Builder:
When Lost: 1875
Cause: Flood
Latitude: N40 57.24
Longitude: W076 28.10
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: On Route 42.

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Comments:
The first covered bridge was built in 1833, but of unknown truss design and was approximately 1150' long. Five spans were destroyed in the freshet of 1836 - 1837, but were promptly replaced. Then, in 1875, the entire bridge was swept away, but it was again in service by November of the same year. This second bridge, also about 1150' long, was a Howe Truss and was raised to a height of 35' above the river. It was declared toll free in 1893, but on September 30, 1896, the entire bridge was blown off its piers by a violent wind storm. Following the destruction of the covered bridge, it was replaced by a wrought iron through-truss bridge of four 304' spans, for a total of 1225' on new abutments and piers, by the Pennsylvania Bridge Company of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania in 1898. The iron bridge was replaced by the present bridge between 1985 and 1990. The present bridge carrying Route 42 (SR0042) appears to be crossing the river at about the same alignment as the old bridges.

Sources:
Moll, Fred J.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges - Our Heritage, 2004, pages 92-93
Kipphorn, Thomas. Information received by email, March 2009
Kipphorn, Thomas. Information received by email, May 2006