Brownlee, Scott, Covered Bridge
Why it's listed
Over Templeton Fork of Wheeling Creek near West Finley in Washington County, Pennsylvania, stands a covered bridge with a kingpost truss, a vertical board siding and a gable roof. The bridge has an end post length of 31 feet 6 inches and a road surface width of 11 feet 7 inches. Its listing is part of a group of covered bridges in Washington and Greene Counties, which are regarded as important examples of vernacular wood bridge construction. The nomination emphasizes the simplicity of the truss types and the local design features found in these structures. Few bridges of this type survive in the two counties in comparison with earlier numbers, which gives the surviving examples added importance. The bridge is recorded in fair condition. It is one of the few surviving examples of this bridge type in the region, and its setting is considered largely rural. The bridge is among the covered bridges documented in the Washington and Greene County group, several of which were built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Significance in brief: The nomination treats the group of covered bridges in Washington and Greene Counties as important examples of vernacular wood bridge construction, with a comparatively high survival rate in these rural counties. The bridge is described as illustrating the kingpost truss type and its construction technology. It is listed as part of that thematic group.
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 79002360, listed June 22, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence low).
Key facts
| Address | Off PA 231, West Finley |
|---|---|
| County | Washington County |
| Listed | June 22, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79002360 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Areas of significance | Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition recorded as fair. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 40.04403, -80.39773 (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 79002360.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7436054
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.