Bittenbender Covered Bridge
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Bittenbender Bridge crosses the Huntington Creek in
Luzerne County. it is located off Twp. Rte. 239, on SR 4006. Bittenbender
bridge is located on private property, Elbrook farms, in Shickshinny, Pa.
This is the only surviving covered bridge in Luzerne County.
This bridge was originally built as a queen post single span structure in 1879
by Stephen Harrison Dodson and Frank Monroe, who owned adjoining farms.
Stephen H. Dodson had worked as a bridge builder for the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad in 1840. In 1927, the Ku Klux Klan, which had a grievance against Fred Bittenbender,
attempted to burn the bridge. A bale of gasoline soaked straw was place
against the north entrance to the bridge and ignited. The siding and
timbers were charred, but with timely discovery, the the fire was
extinguished. A major restoration was carried out by Fred E. Bittenbender
and Joseph Bittenbender in 1937. The contractor was Leon Robbins,
and the foreman of the construction crew was Walter Faust. The center pier was
constructed, the trusses revised into modified into modified queen post
design concrete. Some additional oak plank flooring was installed
which came from the now demolished covered bridge at Huntington Mills. In
1972, the undergirders and outrigger were destroyed during the flood...All have
been re-constructed to it's present state.
