details

Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

Home

Pleasantville, Berks County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: PA/38-06-01
County: Berks County
Township: Oley
Town/Village: Pleasantville
Bridge Name: Pleasantville
Crosses: Manatawny Creek
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 139'-4" overall, 123'-4" span
Roadway Width: 16'-3"
Built: 1852
Builder: David Renno, Levi Marks, and Jonathan Bitner
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N40 22.750
Longitude: W075 44.326
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 2.8 miles east of jct PA662 on PA73 (W. Philadelphia Ave.), then 0.4 miles right on Covered Bridge Rd. (SR1030). Southeast of Pleasantville.

Pleasantville Bridge, Oley, Berks County, PA. Built 1852
Richard Donovan / Trish Kane Collection

Pleasantville Bridge, Oley, Berks County, PA. Built 1852
Bill Caswell Photo, February 5, 2016

Pleasantville Bridge, Oley, Berks County, PA. Built 1852
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, September 28, 2020

Comments:
14-panel truss. Originally built as an open deck bridge, the sides were raised and bridge covered in 1856. It has 3 sets of arches, the lower two were part of the original construction and the 3rd was added when the bridge was roofed. It is believed that the floor was raised 4' in 1856 to protect it from floods. On the road from Pleasantville to Yellow House. During 2002-2004 the bridge was completely restored at a cost of $2.2 million.

Sources:
Evans, Benjamin D. & June R.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges, 2001, page 46
Moll, Fred J.. Covered Bridges of Berks County, 2001, page 46
Moll, Fred J.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges - Our Heritage, 2004, pages 20, 80-81
Kipphorn, Thomas. Information received by email, May 2008
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 100

Compilation 2026 Covered Spans of Yesteryear

The images in this collection may be protected under copyright law and may only be used for educational, teaching, and research purposes.
If the intended use is beyond these purposes, it is the responsibility of the user to obtain the appropriate permissions from the owner stated in the image's credits.