Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 |
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View from southeast in January 1996, with flood damage
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| Coordinates | 41°24′32″N 76°48′10″W / 41.40889°N 76.80278°W |
| Carries | State Route 1005 |
| Crosses | Plunketts Creek |
| Locale | Lycoming, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Official name | Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 (HAER) |
| Other name(s) | Bridge in Plunketts Creek Township (NRHP) |
| Named for | Plunketts Creek |
| Maintained by | Pennsylvania Department of Transportation |
| HAER Number | PA-418 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Historic American Engineering Record, National Register of Historic Places |
| Total length | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Width | 15.25 ft (4.65 m) |
| MPS | Highway Bridges Owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 88000830 |
| Added to NRHP | June 22, 1988 |
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The Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 was an old stone bridge in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. It was built over Plunketts Creek sometime between 1840 and 1875. This bridge was the third one to cross the creek when going upstream.
The bridge was about 75 feet (23 m) long. Its main arch spanned 44 feet (13 m). The bridge deck was 18 feet 8 inches (5.69 m) wide, with a road only 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 m) wide. This meant only one car could cross at a time. In the past, the bridge was important for industries like lumber, leather, and coal.
Later, these industries left the area. The land became a second growth forest. The bridge then helped people get to Pennsylvania State Game Lands and a state pheasant farm. The bridge was special because it was a good example of how stone arch bridges were built in the mid-1800s. Because of its history, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1988.
Sadly, a huge flood in January 1996 badly damaged the bridge. It was so broken that it had to be taken down in March 1996. Before the flood, about 450 cars used the bridge every day. A new bridge was built later that year. The old stone bridge was removed from the NRHP in 2002.
Contents
Exploring the Bridge's Past
Who Lived Here First?
The area around Plunketts Creek was first home to the Susquehannock people. Over time, their numbers decreased due to sickness and wars. By 1675, they had either moved away or joined other tribes. The Iroquois then controlled the land. They invited other tribes, like the Lenape and Shawnee, to live there.
Later, the French and Indian War (1754–1763) caused many Native Americans to move west. In 1768, the British bought this land from the Iroquois. The first European settlers arrived between 1770 and 1776.
How Did Plunketts Creek Get Its Name?
Plunketts Creek is named after Colonel William Plunkett. He was a doctor and a judge. He helped settlers during conflicts with Native Americans. He also led a group to remove settlers from Connecticut who had claimed land in Pennsylvania.
For his work, Plunkett received a large amount of land (about 1,978 acres (800 ha)) in 1776. This land included the mouth of the creek, so it was named after him. He passed away in 1791.
In 1795, Lycoming County was formed. In 1838, a new township was created. It was first going to be called "Plunkett Township." But some people thought William Plunkett had supported the British during the American Revolution. So, they decided to name the township after the creek instead: Plunketts Creek Township. This was a good compromise.
Villages and Roads Near the Bridge
In 1832, John Barbour built a sawmill near Plunketts Creek. This area grew into a village called Barbours Mills, now known as Barbours. In the 1800s, Barbours had many sawmills, a post office, and other businesses.
Around 1840, a road was built north from Barbours along Plunketts Creek. This road crossed the creek several times. This is likely when Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 was built. However, old records don't clearly mention bridges or places to cross the creek.
The bridge was located at the entrance to Coal Mine Hollow. The road it carried was used by the lumber and coal industries. These industries were very active in Plunketts Creek Township. By 1861, there were 14 mills using water power from the creeks. By 1876, there were 19 sawmills and other factories.
In 1868, the village of Proctorville (now Proctor) was founded. It was a company town for a large tannery built in 1873. Proctor is about 1.66 miles (2.67 km) north of Barbours. The main road to Proctor crossed Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3. The tannery used bark from hemlock trees to make leather. It employed hundreds of workers.
The road between Barbours and Proctor crosses Plunketts Creek four times. The bridges are numbered from 1 to 4, starting from the one closest to Barbours. While maps suggest Bridge No. 3 was built around 1840, the first clear proof of its existence is from a road survey in 1875.
Finished leather was carried by wagons over the bridge. It went south to Little Bear Creek. From there, raw animal hides and supplies were brought north across the bridge to Proctor. These hides came from places as far away as Mexico, Argentina, and China. The lumber industry ended when all the old trees were cut down. By 1898, the Proctor tannery closed.
The Bridge in the 20th Century
Small-scale logging continued into the 1900s. But the last logs were floated down Plunketts Creek in 1905. In 1918, a flood damaged the road near the bridge. It also caused cracks in the bridge itself, requiring repairs.
In 1931, Pennsylvania's state government took over the cost of maintaining many local roads and bridges. This helped Plunketts Creek Township and Lycoming County.
As industries left, the populations of Proctor and Barbours decreased. Traffic on the road and bridges also went down. Both villages lost their post offices, schools, and most businesses. By the 1970s, Proctor was called a "near-deserted old tannery town."
Nature began to recover as industries declined. Second growth forests grew back on the clear-cut land. Between 1937 and 1945, the state bought land along Plunketts Creek for Pennsylvania State Game Lands Number 134. The main entrance to this game land is just north of where the bridge once stood.
In 1945, a state game farm was set up to raise wild turkeys. In 1981, it switched to raising ringneck pheasants. As of 2007, this farm produced about 200,000 pheasants each year for public hunting.
On June 22, 1988, Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It was recognized as an important historic bridge.
The Flood That Destroyed the Bridge
In January 1996, Pennsylvania experienced huge floods. The winter had been very cold, and a lot of ice formed in streams. A big snowstorm on January 6–8 brought up to 40 inches (100 cm) of snow. Then, from January 19–21, more than 3 inches (76 mm) of rain fell, with warm temperatures and strong winds. This rain and melting snow caused widespread flooding. Ice jams made the floods even worse.
On Plunketts Creek, ice jams led to record-breaking floods. This caused major, permanent damage to Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3. The water in Barbours was 4 feet (1.2 m) deep. This was called the village's "worst flood in history."
Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 was one of two bridges destroyed in Lycoming County. A photo of the damaged bridge was on the front page of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette newspaper. It said the bridge "must be replaced."
Since the bridge could not be fixed, an emergency contract was given for a temporary bridge. This was important for emergency vehicles. Photographs were taken for the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) before the bridge was taken down. The old bridge was collapsed in March 1996. A new, permanent bridge was finished later that year. The old bridge was removed from the NRHP in 2002.
How the Bridge Was Built
Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 was a rubble masonry stone arch bridge. It stretched about 75 feet (23 m) over Plunketts Creek. Its single arch spanned 44 feet (13 m). The bridge deck was 18 feet 8 inches (5.69 m) wide, with a roadway of 15 feet 3 inches (4.65 m). This allowed only one lane of traffic.
The bridge sat on strong supports called abutments. These had been covered with concrete after the bridge was first built. The arch was made of "irregular rubble stone" pieces. There was no special stone showing the date it was built. The sides of the bridge had walls made of rough stones. The top of these walls had a unique, decorative pattern. This made the bridge special among other stone arch bridges in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania has many old stone arch bridges. The oldest one still in use, the Frankford Avenue Bridge, was built in 1697. Stone bridges often used local stones. "Rubble masonry" was the quickest and cheapest way to build. It used stones just as they came from the quarry. Many of Pennsylvania's oldest stone bridges were built this way.
Building a stone bridge started by digging foundations for the supports. Then, a temporary wooden structure was built to hold the stone arch during construction. Once the stone arch was in place, the side walls were added. Then, the road bed was built, filled with loose stones or dirt. The stones were set in mortar. After the mortar hardened, the temporary support structure was removed. After standing for over a century, the arch of Bridge No. 3 finally collapsed in March 1996.
Images for kids
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View from southeast in January 1996, with flood damage
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A 1916 map showing Plunketts Creek and the four bridges over it between the villages of Barbours and Proctor
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View northeast across the bridge to State Game Lands No. 134 in January 1996 (the bridge was already closed by flood damage then)
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Cracks in the parapet and roadbed of the bridge after the January 1996 flood; this and other damage led to the bridge's demolition in March of that year.
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The intact bridge as seen from the south in summer, with a person on it for size and scale
