Sachs Covered Bridge (Gettysburg)

Sachs Covered Bridge

LANDMARK PROFILE
  • Also Known As:
    • Adams County Bridge No. 1
    • PA State Bridge #8 (according to The Gettysburg Times on January 17, 1952)
    • Sauck's Covered Bridge
    • Sauches Covered Bridge (1863)
    • Waterworks Bridge (1894-1913)
  • Proper Pronounciation: Sachs is pronounced: SOX
  • Battlefield: Near Gettysburg National Military Park
  • Current Owner: Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association
    • Previously: Adams County Historical Society
  • Location (Construction Period): on the road from Gettysburg to Nunemaker's Mill
  • Location (Modern): Waterworks Road, near Pumping Station Road, Adams County, Pennsylvania
  • Crosses: Lower Marsh Creek
  • Map Coordinates: 39°47'51" N, 77°16'34" W
  • Admission: Free
  • Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: August 25, 1980
  • Special Recognition: Designated Pennsylvania's "most historic bridge" in 1938
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LANDMARK DETAILS
  • Built: Circa 1852 / 1854
  • Type: Wooden "Town" Lattice Truss Single Span Covered Bridge
  • Construction:
    • Wood Types: Oak & Pine
    • Bridge Length: 101 feet, 3 inches
    • Roadway Width: 15 feet 4 inches
    • Span: 95 feet, 8 inches
    • Inside Clearance: 12 feet, 7 inches
    • Structural Elements: "Town" Lattice Truss Bridge; Using wooden beams "cris-crossed" to form a lattice
      • Based on a design patented by Architect Ithiel Town of Connecticut.
    • Style Elements: It was originally "Covered" or clad with German siding and a metal roof.
  • Architect: David S. Stoner
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2010 by Chris

  • 1852 Land Owned by: civilian John Pfoutz
  • Cost to Build in 1854: $1,544.00 USD
  • Historic Construction Contract Report:
    • County commissioners are soliciting sealed bids for a "wooden bridge, latticed and roofed, over Marsh-creek, where the road leading from Gettysburg to Nunemaker's Mill crosses said Creek." - December 15, 1851 issue, The Adams Sentinel
  • Land Surrounding Bridge Purchased in 1861 by: John Sachs (including 223 acres)
  • Owner in 1863: Adams County Commissioners
  • Historic Crossings During the Gettysburg Campaign:
    • On July 1, 1863, the bridge was crossed by the two brigades of the I Corps of the Union Army heading towards Gettysburg.
    • Sickle's Union Army III Corps crossed the bridge, heading to the Black Horse Tavern on July 1st.
    • The majority of General Lee's Confederate Army retreated across the bridge after the battle ended.
  • Closed to Automobile Traffic: 1968
  • Posted to the National Register of Historic Places: August 25, 1980 #80003395
  • Reconstructed: 1996-97
    • A foot of rain felt on the night of June 19, 1996, the flooding lifted the bridge off its abutments and washed it downstream 100 yards. The bridge was restored by Adams County using over 75% of its original structure. During it's rehabilitation, the truss structure was supported by steel beams, and raised about 3 feet to relieve future flood water issues.
  • Bridge Rededicated: July 21, 1997
RELATED LINKS
citation information The following information is provided for citations.
Article Title:
Sachs Covered Bridge (Gettysburg)
Authors:
CivilWarTalk
Website Name:
CivilWarTalk.com
URL:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/sachs-covered-bridge-gettysburg.184622/
Publisher:
CivilWarTalk, LLC
Original Published Date:
June 2, 2021

links to state and national monuments, and nearby landmarks Located at Gettysburg National Military Park, in Adams County, Pennsylvania (rev.6/1/21)
National Monuments
Eternal Light Peace Memorial Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial High Water Mark
Lincoln Speech Memorial Soldiers' National Monument
U.S. State Monuments
DE IN MD NY NY Auxiliary PA VT U.S. Regulars
C.S. State Monuments
AL AR DE FL GA LA MD MS NC SC TN TX VA
Union Regimentals
CT DE IL IN ME MD MA MI MN
NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT WV WI U.S. Regulars
Individual &
Commemorative
Monuments
Equestrian Monuments: Hancock Howard Lee Longstreet Meade Reynolds Sedgwick Slocum
Standing Bronze Statues:
Barlow Buford Burns Father Corby Crawford Doubleday Geary Gibbon
Greene Hays Humphreys Robinson Wadsworth Warren Webb
Wells
Other Individual Monuments:
Armistead Chapman Collis Cushing Fuller Rev. Howell Humiston Merwin
Nicholson Sickles Taylor Vincent Ward Weed & Hazlett Willard Woolson Zook
Landmarks
Black Horse Tavern Cashtown Inn Dobbin House Evergreen Cemetery Jennie Wade House Lutheran Theological Seminary
McAllister's Mill Railroad Station Sachs Covered Bridge
Thompson House David Wills House
Farms: Codori Bliss Brian
Daniel Schaefer Hummelbaugh Klingle Lady Leister McLean McPherson
Rogers Rose Rummel Sherfy Slyder Snyder Taney Trostle George Weikert Wentz
Points of Interest
New Museum & Visitor Center Benner's Hill Cemetery Hill Copse of Trees Culp's Hill
Devil's Den Peach Orchard Little Round Top
Big Round Top Sachs Covered Bridge
Spangler's Spring East Cavalry Field Soldiers' National Cemetery National Cemetery Annex

Gone But Not Forgotten: Old Museum, Visitor Center, & Electric Map Old Cyclorama National Tower
 
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