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Glessner, Somerset 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/38-56-08
County: Somerset County
Township: Stony Creek
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Glessner
Crosses: Stonycreek River
Truss type: Multiple King & Tied Arch
Spans: 1
Length: 98', 85' span
Roadway Width: 11'-5"
Built: 1881
Builder: Tobias or Toby Glessner
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N40 01.571
Longitude: W078 55.251
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.8 miles north-northwest of main intersection in Shanksville on North St. (becomes Lambertville Rd.) (SR1007), then 0.4 miles left on Covered Bridge Rd. Northwest of Shanksville.

Glessner Bridge, Stony Creek, Somerset County, PA. Built 1881
Richard Donovan / Trish Kane Collection

Glessner Creek Bridge, Stony Creek, PA. Built 1880
© Lisa Plamondon

Glessner Bridge, Stony Creek, Somerset County, PA. Built 1881
Bill Caswell Photo, February 27, 2010

Comments:
8-panel truss. It has laminated auxiliary arches, but the arches don't extend to the abutments, which rules out a Burr Truss. One source says it was built in 1881 by Tobias Glessner. Another account (Falk) says 1862 by Toby Glessner for $412. In July 1995, it was closed to traffic. It was rehabilitated in 1998 by Lone Pine Construction, Inc., with the engineers being the Neilan Engineers, Inc. It is located about .44 mile north-northwest of the site of Grady's Bridge (PA/38-56-07x).

Sources:
Evans, Benjamin D. & June R.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges, 2001, page 245
Barkman, Sheldon H.. Covered Bridges of Somerset County, PA, 1979, Page 12
National Society For the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Covered Bridge Topics, Volume XLVIII, No. 2, Spring 1990, page 11
Moll, Fred J.. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges - Our Heritage, 2004, pages 126-127
Kipphorn, Thomas. Information received by email, May 2012
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 129

Compilation 2026 Covered Spans of Yesteryear

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