Erwinna

Tinicum

The Erwinna Covered Bridge is the shortest covered bridge in service in Bucks County at 56 feet. It sits near the Delaware River in a very historic region.

The village of Erwinna is named after Colonel Arthur Erwin, who owned the most of the land in Tinicum Township at the time of the Revolutionary War. According to contemporary reports, he was also a slave owner. Erwin served in the Bucks County militia and was asked by George Washington to rally his militia to take part in the 1776 Delaware River crossing.

Erwin was later assassinated in 1791 while serving in the state assembly on a visit to Tioga County, where he owned land. The killer was reportedly a land squatter.

Erwinna village was founded in 1856 and the covered bridge was built in 1871. The region had a robust milling and fishing industry at the time.

Although the bridge was transferred to the state in 1936, highway officials didn’t demolish and replace the bridge. It survived a truck hit-and-run accident in 1974, and PennDOT did extensive renovations to the bridge in 1996 at a cost of $240,000. It also suffered significant damage from a box truck accident in 2012.

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