Bunker Hill #2 Covered Bridge

The Second Bunker Hill Covered Bridge was built in 1963. It replaced the original covered bridge at the same site, built in 1880 and arsoned on November 17, 1961.

Bunker Hill #2 Covered Bridge Photo Gallery

(click photo to enlarge)

1963 Rebuilding	1963 Dedication	1965	1968	1970	1970	2001

From an article in the Baltimore Sunday Sun on June 9, 1963 about the new bridge: "The bridge will be dedicated two weeks from today, June 23rd at 2PM, in ceremonies arranged by The Baltimore County Historical Society. It was the society that initially urged the county to replace the lost bridge, one that had occupied the location for more than 80 years until burned down late in 1961, with another covered bridge. That bridge had been this county's last surviving example of those sentimentally prized structures. The new one is as nearly as possible an exact duplicate of the old." (The arches used for the new Bunker Hill bridge are like that of the old burned bridge), "called tangential arches. That is, they are inside of a series of camparatively short, straight timbers, bolted into a curve."¹

The cost for rebuilding the bridge was $28,500. The new bridge was placed on the same abutments used for the earlier bridge. Portals portrayed the beauty of the new Bunker Hill Bridge: "Bunker Hill was rebuilt with Underwriters certified fire-proof lumber. It is a beauty - painted red and trimmed with white. The interior is finished as well with stain which adds to the beauty of the bridge. It is reenforced with iron rods and iron fittings between the laminated joints of the arches to add also to its strength. The load limit is 16,000 pounds. The following is the inscription over its portals; 'Built in 1880. Restored in 1947. Destroyed by fire in 1961. Rebuilt in 1963 by the Lee Foundation Co., Spiro T. Agnew, Co. Executive, Albert B. Katenbach, Director of Public Works-Baltimore County, Fifth District.' The roof shingles are hand hewn cedar from Canada, siding from California Redwood, timbers are Oregon Fir, and the flooring is Georgia Pine. Floor timbers are 12"X18"X14"-each weighs over 600 pounds. Bridge is approximately 107 feet long - roadway about 12 feet."²

Sadly, Bunker Hill #2 Covered Bridge was destroyed by fire on August 8, 1971, A few charred timbers and stone abutments are all that remain. Because of the cost and relatively low usage, the decision was made to not rebuild the bridge. The bridge served only a few homes in the area, which all had other access to nearby York Road.³

Although the bridge has long disappeared over Gunpowder Falls, the location still remains a favorite swimming place for local residents.

¹ Baltimore Sunday Sun Magazine (June 9, 1963).

² Portals, a publication of the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society of Pennsylvania. (Harrisburg, PA: Volume 3, Number 2: June 1963), p.5.

³ York Weekly Record (July 21, 2000).

UPDATED 04/18/2011: 1970 photo by John McGrain added to photo gallery.