{"nrhp_refnum":"80003516","name":"Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge","other_names":["Eberly's Covered Bridge"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"SE of Ephrata on LR 36122, West Earl Township","address_restricted":false,"city":"Ephrata","county":"Lancaster County","state":"PA","lat":40.14034727500007,"lon":-76.15194705699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-12-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A burr truss covered bridge over Conestoga Creek in West Earl Township, near Ephrata, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is recorded as built in 1846 by George Fink and Samuel Reamsnyder.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the bridge as a good example of the 19th-century burr truss, a wood frame construction type. It is described as identical in styling to the Weaver's Mill Bridge, with vertical board and batten siding and triangular portals, and it is in better condition than that bridge. It is listed as part of the Covered Bridges of Lancaster County multiple property group.","narrative":"Near Ephrata in West Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge crosses Conestoga Creek. It was built in 1846 by George Fink and Samuel Reamsnyder and uses the burr truss, a timber framing method widely used in the 19th century. The bridge has vertical board and batten siding and triangular portals. Its styling matches the Weaver's Mill Bridge, also in West Earl Township, but it is in noticeably better condition. It is recorded as being in good condition and is owned by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The bridge was nominated as part of a group of covered bridges in Lancaster County, which together illustrate how these structures were built in the region. Its value lies in its construction: a surviving, well-preserved example of a burr truss bridge from the mid-nineteenth century that shows how wood frame bridges of that era were put together.","period_of_significance":"1846","architect_builder":"George Fink and Samuel Reamsnyder (builders)","architectural_style":"Burr truss","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition recorded as good; owned by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:33.64019-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/80003516.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003516/edb70ae5f6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003516/edb70ae5f6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":"Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bitzer%27s_Mill_Covered_Bridge_Side_3008px.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Photo by and (c)2006 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bitzer%27s_Mill_Covered_Bridge_Side_3008px.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993219","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitzer%27s_Mill_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4919196"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lancaster-county/bitzers-mill-covered-bridge-80003516/"}