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Linton Stephens or Linton Stevens, Chester County

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Inventory Number: PA/38-15-03
County: Chester County
Township: Elk - New London
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Linton Stephens or Linton Stevens
Crosses: Big Elk Creek
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 114' overall, 102'-4" span
Roadway Width: 15'-5"
Built: 1886
Builder:
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N39 45.388
Longitude: W075 54.743
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 3.1 miles northwest of jct with PA213/841 ( just north of the Maryland State Line) on PA472, then 0.8 miles right on Kings Row Rd.

Linton Stevens or Linton Stephens Bridge, Elk-New London Twps., PA. Built 1886
Bill Caswell Photo

Linton Stevens or Linton Stephens Bridge, Elk-New London Twps., PA. Built 1886
Bill Caswell Photo, May 2, 2015

Linton Stevens or Linton Stephens Bridge, Elk-New London Twps., PA. Built 1886
Jenn Caswell Photo, May 2, 2015

Comments:
Chester County #28. 12-panel truss. "An 1874 (actually 1873) map of New London Township shows a foot bridge across the Big Elk Creek at the site under discussion. The County built an iron bridge here in 1875. This was so damaged by the June 26, 1884 flood that J. Denithorne & Son were paid $1,294.00 for repairing it. Only two years later a wooden covered bridge replaced the iron bridge." (James). The bridge was named for Linton Stephens. The Chester County bridge maintenance records show an unexplained change of the spelling to Stevens in 1914, and it has remained the same since then. Research from Kent Vendrick has found many historical documents such as the 1870 & 1880 U.S. Censuses, the 1883 Farm map, the Postmasters list from Hickory Hill, deeds, newspaper articles and even the petition and deposition for this bridge which carry Linton Stephens’ name and even signature, all with the Stephens spelling. The bridge is located between Elk Township on T310 and New London Township on T344, with East Nottingham Township very close to, but not touching the site to the northwest. This is mentioned in Arthur E. James book Covered Bridges of Chester County, Pennsylvania. "By a quirk of geography, three townships, East Nottingham, Elk and New London, are contiguous just above this bridge." It is closed to traffic, with the road nearly impassable. Called Kings Row Road in both townships, it formerly joined the two villages of Hickory Hill and New London.

Sources:
Evans, Benjamin D. & June R.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges, 2001, page 81
James, Arthur E.. Covered Bridges of Chester County, PA, 1976, pages 35-36
Information received from Kent Vendrick in August 2012.
Moll, Fred J.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges - Our Heritage, 2004, pages 86-87
Kipphorn, Thomas. Information received by email, May 2007
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 104

Compilation 2026 Covered Spans of Yesteryear

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