The bridge was the second bridge on this site. The first was an open bridge erected in 1823 at a cost of under $500. That bridge was destroyed in 1848 by the Kauff flood, named for members of the Kauff family who were victims of a flood. Locally the flood was also called the "Great Freshet." In case this is a word you don't currently have in your vocabulary, "freshet" is defined as the occurrence of a water flow resulting from sudden rain or melting snow.

This flood probably was the all-time record high water for the Fishing Creek valley. The records of the McHenry family indicate that the flood "followed a cloudburst" and destroyed many "buildings and carried away every bridge on Fishingcreek from the North Mountain to Bloomsburg."

James McHenry built the bridge which still spans Fishing Creek in 1849 with help from his brother Daniel. The bridge is a 168-foot Burr Arch, which cost $1,124. The foreman on the job was John H. Edson, New Columbus, who was also the builder of the Berwick and the Catawissa bridges that spanned the Susquehanna. The Stillwater bridge opened for use in 1849 and was used for one full century before it was closed in 1949.

On April 10, 1951, the bridge was selected for maintenance "for all time as a memorial to all covered bridges in Columbia County." The dedication of the bridge as a "lasting historical memorial was on May 16, 1951. It has since been kept open for pedestrian traffic only. For the record, the motion which made the bridge a memorial was made by Commissioners G. Clayton Welliver and John Q. Timbrelli. At that time, it was decided to close the bridge to vehicular traffic and leave it open for pedestrians.

The bridge is designated as Structure #79003177 on the National Register of Historic Places, and can be identified as Stillwater Covered Bridge No. 134." For pictures of the bridge and additional information, go to www.coveredbridgesite.com/pa/stillwater.html and www.coveredbridges.org .