Forry's Mill Covered Bridge in Lancaster County

One thing that Pennsylvania is known for are the beautiful covered bridges that criss-cross this great state. They serve the purpose in helping travelers cross rivers and creeks in their horse & buggies or automobiles. Over the decades many of them have been taken down or replaced with modern bridges while others have been lovingly restored.

Forry's Mill Covered Bridge is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It spans Chiques Creek and was built in 1869 by Elias McMellen. It's located in Rapho/West Hempfield Townships and is located on Bridge Valley Road. It's just one of many covered bridges on the Lancaster County Covered Bridges tour.

The bridge is county-owned and maintained and is officially known as the Big Chiques #7 Bridge. Measuring 103 feet long, 12 feet 10 inches wide, with a clearance of 11 feet 6 inches. Painted in the classic barn red color with both approaches painted in white. It has a single span and done in the double Burr arch trusses design.

You'll find an official historical marker located alongside the road that contains information and history. The interior of the bridge contains another plaque that you can read and photograph. In 1980 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

When visiting the safest place for you to park is in the pull-off area located in front of the small sewage treatment facility that sits near one approach to the bridge. Park your car and walk up to the historical marker to read it. You do need to pay attention to others who are traveling on the road as we saw some people flying by and not looking out for pedestrians and sight-seers.

We really enjoyed seeing the Forry's Mill Covered Bridge and spent about 20 minutes at the site. It was the first stop on our Lancaster County Covered Bridge Tour. Less than a mile away is the Siegrist's Mill Covered Bridge which was our second stop.

Over the next few months we'll be traveling across the state of Pennsylvania to check out additional covered bridges and sharing that information on the blog. You can check out our covered bridges section to learn more and to follow our adventure.