Johnson Covered Bridge No. 28
Why it's listed
Covered bridge near Catawissa in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, built with a Warren Truss design and iron tension rods running parallel to a queen post. The span is 60.25 feet long, with a roadway 13.5 feet wide and 12 feet of clearance. Its metal roof panels sit over wooden ribs and rafters, and its portals tilt slightly inward from roof to deck in board and batten style. The floor is laid in horizontal boards with two runways, and the undergirding uses six boards pinned together where the main structural brace meets the abutments. Builder Daniel Stine is named in the nomination. Covered bridges like this one were built to carry traffic between growing towns and the farms, saw mills and grist mills that depended on them. The structure is regarded as an example of regional bridge engineering, and the document notes that no covered bridges have been built in the county for nearly fifty years.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the bridge is significant under engineering and transportation. Its Warren Truss construction with queen post elements reflects the county's covered bridge engineering, and it served the transportation needs of growing towns and farming, saw and grist mill activity. The document notes that covered bridges have not been built in Columbia County in the last half century, which it presents as making the county's bridge design and engineering unique.
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 79003185, listed November 29, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | SR 320, Catawissa |
|---|---|
| County | Columbia County |
| Listed | November 29, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79003185 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Architect / builder | Daniel Stine (builder) |
| Architectural style | Warren Truss |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Wall coverings are sagging and in need of repairs; abutments have been extensively patched with concrete. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 40.87798, -76.48353 (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 79003185.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6268273
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.