The Cole Covered Bridge over West Creek in Sugarloaf Township

    This is an interim report about a covered bridge built in 1881 over West Creek in Sugarloaf Township, but is now about 30 miles away at the Knoebel's Grove Amusement Park, off Pennsylvania Route 487 between Catawissa and Elysburg. The report is interim since we don't know a lot about the bridge for the 55 years that it resided in the Upper Fishingcreek Valley, and we hope that our readers can help us out.
A picture of the Cole Covered Bridge, perhaps just before dismantling and moving it to Knoebel's Grove. The then home of Leonard Cole can be seen in the background.
  
   
 
    The bridge joined the present West Creek Road with the present route 239. The bridge formed a "T" at that intersection. It crossed West Creek at the present residence of Ed and Susan Cole. The bridge was built in 1881 by J. J. McHenry at a cost of $348.00. We have seen references to the bridge identified as the Cole Covered Bridge. During 1935, Route 239 was straightened at that point, a concrete bridge constructed and the road was relocated. H. H. Knoebel, who owned an amusement park between Catawissa and Elysburg, purchased the bridge in 1937 for $40. Hartman and Lawrence Knoebel dismantled and moved it less than 30 miles to the park. The bridge was rebuilt in a week. The bridge was not painted and all repairs were in keeping with the original constriction, including the use of wide boards milled especially for the reconstructed bridge. Wooden shingles were replaced on the roof. In 1964, the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society named the bridge for the owner of Knoebel's Grove, Lawrence L. Knoebel. Today the bridge has been slightly modified to include a walkway, but is a centerpiece of the 160 acre amusement park and spans the South Branch of Roaring Creek, connecting Cleveland Township, Columbia County, with Ralpho Township, Northumberland County. The park is located at the County line, off Pennsylvania Route 487 between Catawissa and Elysburg.
     
   
   


The Lawrence L. Knoebel Covered Bridge.

The bridge as it looks today at Knoebel's Grove.
    An artist's sketch of the bridge as it exists today can be found at http://www.columbiapa.org/coveredbridges/381939sk.html .