The Twin Bridges of Columbia County

Please note that this section was originally written in 2003. It has not been updated. A section on the destruction of the West Paden bridge is here.

The famous twin bridges of Columbia County are the...

• East Paden, designated 38-19-11, a Queen Truss bridge [simply a type of wooden truss allowing for long spans], 79 feet long), designated as structure #79003180 on the National Register of Historic Places, and

• West Paden, designated 38-19-12, a Burr Arch bridge [adds an arch to the Queen Truss to help support the load. Longer spans may also be achieved], 103 feet long), designated as structure #79003179 on the National Register of Historic Places.

		The bridges are located on Huntington Creek in Fishing Creek Township, east of Route 487 and a stone's throw east of Forks, off route 1020. Both bridges were constructed in 1884 by W. C. Pennington and named for John Paden, a sawmill operator who lived near the bridges. Twin Bridges County Park was created in 1963 when a new road, 1020, eliminated the need for using the twin bridges for vehicular traffic.

A large crowd attended the Twin Covered Bridge dedication at Forks that Sunday afternoon in 1963. Cars lined all approach roads and jammed the parking lot. The newly refurnished bridges were glistening in their new red paint, their metal roofing reflecting sunshine. Under the longer of the two bridges, a small dam had been hastily bulldozed two days before to form enough of a pool to make the bridge interesting and provide a wading area for children. Suddenly the abandoned twin-covered bridges become an attraction for picnic parties and tourists with cameras rather than the stream of traffic the bridges had known for decades.

The new red paint for the exterior of the bridge came out of a drum, unlike the original paint that came out of a milk bucket with barn-red paint mixed using brick dust and coal-oil.

The bridges were reconditioned when it was decided to make them a focus for a recreation area. Weathered siding was ripped off and replaced, leaving intact the mammoth beams which were framed together with oak pins toward the roof, heavy metal bolts farther down. Heavy planks where horses and buggies, teams, spooners, and loads of hay once raised clouds of dust as they rumbled through the hollow tunnels of the bridges were ripped up and a smooth flooring substituted. The flooring was made heavy enough for picnic crowds, but was not intended to withstand vehicular traffic.

Stout barriers guarded both ends of the bridge and the interiors once reverberating to the clop-clop of horses' hooves suddenly resounded with childish laughter as families relaxed from their farm lives and spent a day in the shade while youngsters went skipping off down the steps to the graveled water's edge and the coolness of the shallow creek.

Picnic tables and benches were contributed by Columbia County places of business and paraded down the middle of the two bridges. The Sunday that the Twin Bridges Park opened for the first time, visitors crowded both the bridges and the open space between them where the ceremonies were scheduled to begin at 2:30. The ceremony actually got under way at 3 PM. Part of the crowd went on to Stillwater, where another abandoned bridge awaited approval from the County Supervisors to be saved.

Harold A. Swenson, director of Tourist Promotion, gave the main address. Dr. Sylvester K. Stevens, director of Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, made remarks after unveiling of the plaque bearing the date and names of the three Columbia County supervisors. The master of ceremonies was Richard Walton, chief clerk, standing beside a deeply-carved legend in the curving strut of the covered bridge, which said simply "Peter loves Mary."

You can see pictures of the bridges at http://www.coveredbridgesite.com/pa/east_paden.html , and of West Paden at http://www.coveredbridgesite.com/pa/west_paden.html and under FEATURES on this web site.

All pictures of the storm damage to the Twin Bridges are courtesy of Brian Bower