Josiah Hess Covered Bridge No. 122
Why it's listed
The Josiah Hess Covered Bridge in Forks, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, is a timber bridge 105.2 feet long, with a roadway 15.4 feet wide and 11 feet of vertical clearance. It is built as a Burr truss arch, with five diagonal braces on either side of a central king post, and the arch is superimposed on each side of each truss system. The roof is corrugated metal covered with tar, and the walls are board and batten, though some repairs show plain vertical planks. One wall has two long windows because the road curves sharply in that direction. The abutments are mostly original stone and mortar. Joseph Redline is named as builder. The bridge is important for its engineering. Columbia County's covered bridges use several truss types, and the nomination treats their design as unique because none have been built in the county for half a century. The bridge also served the county's expanding towns and the farming, saw and grist mill activity that needed reliable crossings.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the bridge is significant for its engineering, citing the Burr truss design and the county's covered bridges as unique in their design and engineering. It also links the bridge to transportation needs that grew with rapid town growth and with farming, saw and grist mills.
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 79003181, listed November 29, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence low).
Key facts
| Address | SR 563, Forks |
|---|---|
| County | Columbia County |
| Listed | November 29, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79003181 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Architect / builder | Joseph Redline (builder) |
| Architectural style | Burr Truss Arch |
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 41.11494, -76.33937 (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 79003181.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6290513
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.