Jericho Covered Bridge

David Lee II, one of the mill owners in the communities known as Jericho and Jerusalem and considered to be the overseer of the roads in the area, lobbied for a bridge to connect the cotton mills of Jericho, a spade factory and wrought iron works in Franklinville, Baltimore County, with the flour mills and blacksmith shops in Jerusalem, Harford County. His father, Ralph Sackett Lee was successful over thirty years earlier at having a covered bridge built next to the Jerusalem Mill that also connected Baltimore and Harford Counties. Thomas Forsyth, a Baltimore machinist completed construction of Jericho Covered Bridge in December of 1865 at a cost of $3,125. Both bridges spanned the Little Gunpowder Falls only about one half mile apart.

Jericho came upon hard times over the years having gone through major rehabilitation processes in 1937 and 1983. During the 1937 rehabilitation a Queenpost Truss was added to its Burr Arch and Multiple Kingpost Truss. The Queenpost Truss stretched across all ten side panel sections of the bridge. Metal braces, tie rods, new flooring and new walls were also added. Still, the bridge was closed again in December of 1980 for fear the flooring was unsafe for travel. Jericho was rehabilitated at a cost of $280,000 and reopened on July 7,1983. Part of the repairs included installing a flooring consisting of 2" X 4" boards, set on edge and adding five steel reinforcing girders hidden underneath its deck for support to a portion of the travel section of the bridge. The reinforcing steel allowed for a safe vehicle weight of 15 tons to cross. Also, a new roof and repairs to the masonry abutments were completed. At 14' high, old Jericho Bridge is tall enough for fire trucks and school buses to cross.

Jericho Covered Bridge was added to National Register of Historic Places on September 13,1978 and is also on the Baltimore County Landmarks List.