Bartram Covered Bridge: Spanning History. George D. Conn

Bartram Covered Bridge: Spanning History

Bartram Covered Bridge: Spanning History - George D. Conn

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      Bartram Covered Bridge is located in a small, quiet 1.3 acre park-like setting in southeastern Pennsylvania, about 15 miles west of Philadelphia, on Goshen Road at its intersection with Boot Road in Newtown Square, PA. The bridge spans Crum Creek between Newtown Township, in Delaware County and Willistown Township, in Chester County. Besides the historical aspects of the bridge structure, the surroundings offer quiet tranquility, park benches, a tall tree canopy, and access to Crum Creek. It is a favorite spot for families to wade in the creek in the summer, for fishermen to angle for trout or other fish, and for painters and photographers to capture beautiful images of the bridge and its surroundings.

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      Map of Newtown Square showing location of Bartram Covered Bridge at Goshen and Boot Road intersection. Willistown Township in Chester County is located to the west (left side) and Newtown Township in Delaware County is located to the east (right side). Source: Adapted from Microsoft Bing Maps, 2010.

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      Early History of Bartram Covered Bridge

      Although Bartram Bridge was not built until 1860, the legal procedure was begun in 1859. The state Assembly had established specific procedures for erecting bridges. The counties were entrusted with carrying out those procedures. Bartram Bridge spanned Crum Creek, the border between Delaware and Chester Counties, and, thus, would involve the approval of both counties. For the purpose of simplification, the following narrative will follow the legal steps mainly through the Chester County records. The Delaware County records parallel those of Chester County, with minor changes in some dates.

      droppedImage-4.pngThe procedures for getting a bridge built, as specified by Pennsylvania state law, were as stated below. The responsibility for building the bridge rested with the County Commissioners, but the impetus had to come from the citizenry.

      Local residents, businessmen, landowners, and whoever else would benefit from a proposed bridge, would draw up a written petition, sign it and present it to the County Court of Quarter Sessions. That court would then appoint a committee of respected residents to inspect the proposed bridge site and issue a report to the court on the merits of such a bridge. If the committee ruled in favor of the proposal, the County Commissioners would write up construction specifications and advertise in the local papers for people to bid on building the bridge. Once the bids were in, the County Commissioners would open the bids. As would be expected, the lowest bidder(s) would usually get the job of building the bridge.

      Finally, when the construction of the bridge was completed, a Jury of Review was appointed to inspect the structure. If all the building specifications were found to have been met, the agreed upon amount was paid to the builder(s). If the construction was not satisfactory, then the builder, or builders, had to do additional work to meet the specifications. There were also occasions when the work was found a little “short” of expectations and the contractor(s) received a lesser amount than the sum originally agreed upon.

      Building Bartram Bridge (1859-1860)

      The road that is presently named Goshen Road was, in the mid-1800s, referred to as Haverford Road. The early road was a main transportation route between Lancaster and Philadelphia. Through the first decades of the 1800s, its importance and use was steadily growing. Whether the traffic was by foot, by horse or by wagon, it was necessary to ford Crum Creek to continue traveling.

      droppedImage-5.pngWhen the stream was flowing normally, fording was not a particularly bad problem. However, when the creek swelled from heavy rains, fording could become treacherous. The movement of people and goods was delayed. Beside the inconvenience, businessmen, from near and far, who had to travel that road, saw their livelihoods affected.

      Thus it was that in 1859 the local citizens, along with businessmen and others who would benefit from a bridge, drew up and signed a petition. Signers of the petition included Israel Bartram, Isaac Thomas and Eli Lewis, all of whom owned large parcels of land near the site of the proposed bridge. The petition stated their perceived need for a bridge and also stated the inability of the two townships (Willistown and Newtown) to bear the building expense. On November 16, 1859, the petition was filed with the Chester County Court of Quarter Sessions.

      Justifying the need for a Bridge

      droppedImage-6.pngThe Chester County Court of Quarter Sessions acted quickly on the petition. In the same month of November, the Court appointed and swore in three prominent residents to inspect the site of the proposed bridge. Their duty was to determine if there was a need for the bridge and if the expense was too great for the local townships. If they found that to be true, they were then charged with deciding if “a change or variation in the bed of the road would be an improvement and saving of expense in the erection of such Bridge.” Finally, if that proved to be so, an accurate survey was to be made. The survey and map, along with the findings of the committee were to be ready for the next session of the Court. In January, 1860, the committee filed its report with the Court of Quarter Sessions. The committee agreed with the petitioners that the bridge was “indispensably necessary.” They also recommended a change in the course of the Haverford Road so that the bridge could be built at “the most suitable place, at the least expense, and in the best manner.” Generally, what the county wanted was to build the bridge where the creek was the narrowest. The shortest bridge usually cost the least money. Thus, it wasn’t unusual to see a road relocated a little, as in this case, to allow for a bridge that was straight across the creek at a narrow point.

      Selecting the Bridge Builder

      Having received the report that a bridge spanning Crum Creek was necessary, the County Commissioners of the two counties met on April 13th, in Chadd’s Ford, to draw up the specifications for the construction of the bridge. On April 16th, the commissioners advertised in the local papers for people to bid on the contract to build the bridge.

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      During the early months of 1860, ten sealed bids were received. The bids were opened on May 7th and the contract was awarded to Ferdinand Wood. Wood had submitted the lowest bid at $1,133. The nine other bids ranged from a low of $1,195 to a high of $1,600. Among the other bidders was Eli Lewis, owner of the land on the Newtown side of Crum Creek, and Israel Bartram, the owner of the land on the Willistown side of Crum Creek. Lewis and Bartram submitted a combined bid of $1,400.

      Mordecai T. Bartram, the 17 year old son of Israel Bartram, recorded in his diary, dated May 10, 1860, the following:

      “To-day is wet. Vandalier Eachus came up and went to West Chester

      along with father and Eli Lewis – he being one of the commissioners from

      Delaware County and was going to West Chester to meet the rest of the

      commissioners for the purchase of letting the bridge out to contractor.

      Father and Eli put in 14 hundred but did not get it as one by the name of

      Wood only put in $1,133.00 and as he is a reliable man he gets the bid”

      The Bridge is Built

      Ferdinand Wood built Bartram Bridge between May and September, 1860. From portal to portal the bridge was 60 feet in length. Ten foot wingwalls on each side brought the over-all length to 80 feet.

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