McGees Mills Covered Bridge
Why it's listed
Near the village of McGee's Mills in Bell Township, Clearfield County, a single 109-foot span of Burr truss carries the road across the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The bridge was built in 1873 and is roofed with a shingled gable, sided horizontally, and set on cut stone abutments. Its interior has been encased with protective wooden walls. The village grew from a gristmill and sawmill established by James McGee in 1826, and the bridge still carries local traffic in a largely agricultural area. The nomination treats it as the last covered bridge spanning the West Branch and the only one left in Clearfield County. Its significance lies in representing a once widespread type of rural crossing that marked a key period in American wood bridge construction, a type that has largely disappeared across Pennsylvania since the flood of 1972.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the bridge is the last covered bridge spanning the West Branch of the Susquehanna and the only remaining covered bridge in Clearfield County. It is presented as a surviving example of a once common rural structure type that represented a major period in wood bridge technology in Pennsylvania during the 19th century.
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 80003475, listed April 17, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | W of Mahaffey, Mahaffey |
|---|---|
| County | Clearfield County |
| Listed | April 17, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80003475 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1873 |
| Architectural style | Burr truss |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as good; the form marks the bridge as altered and the original site as retained. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 40.87999, -78.76510 (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 80003475.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6801245
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.