The Knox Covered Bridge is located in Valley Forge National Historic Park. It was originally built in 1851 at a cost of $843, its span was 50 feet. The bridge was made of white pine, light in weight and resistant to worms and weather.
Like other covered bridges, it was covered for protection from the weather, to keep off the rain, snow and sun. The superstructure over the bridge kept water out of the joints, where it might freeze during the winter or cause rotting in the summer, and also kept the bridge from drying.
Like other covered bridges, it was covered for protection from the weather, to keep off the rain, snow and sun. The superstructure over the bridge kept water out of the joints, where it might freeze during the winter or cause rotting in the summer, and also kept the bridge from drying.
The bridge was washed away in 1865 by a flood and replaced that year at a cost of $1,179. The new bridge had a slightly longer a 65-foot span. In 1958 the bridge was damaged by fire. When it was rebuilt by the State, steel girders were added to reinforce and strengthen it.
For many years the bridge was known as the Valley Forge Dam Bridge. In the 19th century there were a number of mills and factories along The Valley Creek with a dam near what is now Route 23 providing water power for their operation. The lake formed by the dam was a "very pretty body of water" but with the water level only a foot or so below the road, it also caused flooding from time to time.
Today the bridge is usually identified as the Knox Bridge - either after Senator Philander C. Knox or General Henry Knox. In 1903 Senator Know purchased 256 acres of land adjacent to the bridge and moved into the old farm house west of the bridge that had been the quarters of General William Maxwell during the Valley Forge encampment. General Henry Knox had his quarters in the old farm house to the east of the bridge.
