{"nrhp_refnum":"79002310","name":"Rishel Covered Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"E of Montandon on T 573, East/West Chillisquaque Townships","address_restricted":false,"city":"Montandon","county":"Northumberland County","state":"PA","lat":40.96023990900005,"lon":-76.81570903799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-08-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-span covered timber truss bridge over Chillisquaque Creek, east of Montandon in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, with a Burr arch truss and stone masonry abutments.","why_significant":"The bridge combines a Burr arch with a multiple kingpost truss, a type patented by Theodore Burr in 1817 and widely used in the region for longer spans. The nomination argues it may be the oldest covered wooden bridge in the United States and the oldest example of an important timber truss design. It has survived many floods and still carries passenger vehicles.","narrative":"Spanning Chillisquaque Creek east of Montandon in Northumberland County, this single-span covered timber bridge carries local traffic over a clear span of roughly 91 to 94 feet between stone masonry abutments. Its truss combines a Burr arch with kingpost members, a form that Theodore Burr patented in 1817 and that was widely built in the region for longer spans. The bridge is credited to John Shriner, Jr. and Zacheus Braley. Its arch sits higher than is usual beneath the stringers, probably because of low clearance and the need to protect it from floating debris in floods. The bridge has survived many floods and still carries passenger cars daily, though it is not capable of carrying large trucks. Its overall condition is fair, with the structure bowing and leaning upstream. It is regarded as significant mainly for its age and for its surviving early Burr arch construction.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Shriner, Jr. and Zacheus Braley (builders)","architectural_style":"Burr arch truss","criteria":[],"status_note":"Overall fair condition; bowing and leaning upstream but still serviceable and used daily by passenger vehicles.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.943735-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/79002310.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002310/7373ce1e8a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002310/7373ce1e8a-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rishel_CB_1830_PA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rishel_CB_1830_PA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993420","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishel_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7336025"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/northumberland-county/rishel-covered-bridge-79002310/"}