Ryot Covered Bridge
Why it's listed
Ryot Covered Bridge is a Burr truss span carrying county road T559 over Dunnings Creek in West St. Clair Township, near Fishertown in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. The bridge is 75 feet along its end posts, with a roadbed about 12 feet wide and a clearance of 11 feet 7 inches. Its high sidewalls leave a narrow row of windows beneath the eaves of a low gabled roof, and it rests on cut stone abutments. Bedford County once had many covered bridges of this kind, and the form counts fourteen that survive. Ryot is listed as a representative example of 19th-century wooden bridge construction, a method that once served rural road networks across the county. The bridge is owned by Bedford County and is recorded in good condition.
Significance in brief: The nomination treats the bridge as eligible as an example of a type of transportation architecture, embodying 19th-century wood bridge technology that was once common in Bedford County. It is one of 14 surviving covered bridges in the county, and the nomination notes that the surveyed bridges represent the county's covered bridge tradition. Its high sidewalls, narrow window row under the eaves, and cut stone abutments are cited as distinguishing features.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 80003416, listed April 10, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | S of Alum Bank on T 559, West St. Clair Township, Fishertown |
|---|---|
| County | Bedford County |
| Listed | April 10, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80003416 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition recorded as good on the form. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.14233, -78.62478 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 80003416.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7385333
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.