Just at the edge of Valley Foge National Historical Park in Pennsylvania lies the Knox Covered Bridge, as seen in this image I shot back in December 1983, and the one below from Summer of 1984.
On my recent trip back east, I decided it was time to update my photos of the historic structure. It is not easy to do so, as there are no sidewalks, and areas to pull the car over to safety are few and far between. The road is narrow and only one lane each way; as I found when I ran the half mile or so to my destination, I was constantly praying as cars whizzed by. The things I do to get my shots!
Persistence paid off though and in between dodging cars, I was able to create the illusion of a peaceful pastoral scene with a historic bridge added for interest.
I went to the National Park Service website to get the background on the Knox Covered Bridge:
The first covered bridge across Valley Creek was built in 1851; it had to be rebuilt in 1865 after being washed away in a flood. Measuring 10 feet wide and 65 feet long, the bridge connects Yellow Spring Road and Route 252. For many years the bridge was known as the Valley Forge Dam Bridge. In the 19th century there were a number of factories and mills along the Valley Creek with a dam near what is now Route 23 providing water power for their operation.
Today the bridge is usually identified as the Knox Bridge – though there is some disagreement over from which Knox its name is taken: Senator Philander Chase Knox or General Henry Knox. It seems more likely that it takes its name from the former. In 1903 he purchased 256 acres of land adjacent to the bridge and moved into the old farmhouse to the west of the bridge that had been the quarters of General William Maxwell during the Encampment at Valley Forge. Today the house is known as the Philander Chase Knox Estate. He was an attorney and prominent in the Republican Party in the early years of the 20th century, serving as Attorney General under President Theodore Roosevelt and as the Secretary of State in the cabinet of President William Howard Taft. He also served two terms as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania. The suggestion that the bridge may have been named for General Knox stems from the fact that, during the Valley Forge encampment, the 300-pound commander of the Continental artillery had his quarters in the old farmhouse to the east of the bridge.
The bridge looks about the same as when I first photographed it some forty years ago, just a bit cleaner as a result of recent restoration and repair. I realized when I got home and processed my photos that the first two in this post were taken from the opposite side of the bridge, where it is easier to find parking! Duh.
If only I’d remembered that I could have saved a lot of sweat and fear!
See more Valley Forge, Pennsylvania photos at my main website.
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