Updated: February 3, 2022
Page added: November 11, 2019
General Information about the different pages on this web site:
Pages on this web site contains information and pictures of Irwinton Mill (aka Anderson Mill), the nearby Hays Fording Double Arch Stone Bridge, the Witherspoon "Red" Covered Bridge, working model of a northern grist mill and a working model of a southern grist mill. Web Site also contain information about the Irwinton Historic District and the Hays Bridge Historic District taken with permission from two National Register of Historic Places Registration Forms. Information on these pages is generally about an area on or near Anderson Road and the Conococheague Creek in Montgomery Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
HAYS BRIDGE HISTORIC DISTRICT:
Mercersburg vicinity
This page contains historical information taken from a National Register of Historic Places Registration Form about the Hays bridge, Hays farm for which the bridge was named and the nearby Witherspoon Red Covered bridge. Both bridges are owned and maintained by Franklin County Commissioners, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
The form was prepared by Paula Stoner Dickey Ph.D., Architectural Historian and dated July 11, 1977. The organization listed on the form is Preservation Associates, 335 South Ridge Avenue, Greencastle, Pennsylvania. The form is dated as November, 2011.
Paula’s current name and address of her organization is Paula S. Reed & Associates, Inc. PO Box 3566, Hagerstown MD 21741.
This historical information is listed as Hays Bridge Historic District, Montgomery Township Routes 331 and 328, Mercersburg vicinity, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
Paula Reed gave permission to selectively use the historic information from her National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for this web site. The following information was taken from the form:
Hays Bridge Historic District
Pennsylvania
Franklin County
Montgomery Township
Routes 331 and 328
Mercersburg vicinity
Description
The Hays Bridge Historic District is located near the confluence of the West Branch of the Conococheague Creek and Licking Creek southeast of Mercersburg in Montgomery Township
Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The rural historic district includes a private tract of 11.18 acres and two 19th century bridges on township roads. The terrain is hilly with steep limestone cliffs rimming the east bank of the Conococheague.
The private property is improved with a 19th century house and barn. Between them passes Montgomery Township Routes 331, a dirt road. They are situated on gently sloping' ground between the Conococheague and Licking Creeks and face south.
The house is a three story, four bay stone dwelling constructed of coursed local limestone. A modern shed roof porch extends along the front elevation. Built of concrete block, reinforced concrete and supported by metal poles, it would appear to follow closely the configuration of the original wooden porch. The house is built into a slope having the full ground story exposed at all but the west elevation.
The walls show rather uniformly shaped stones at the front elevation. Decorative masonry includes a diamond shaped stone centered in the second story of the front elevation. Rough key stones are suggested above some main story openings.
Windows and doors appear to be grouped in pairs toward the east and west ends of the front and rear elevations. Original window frames many of which remain are wide, joined at the corners with wooden pegs. The exterior window casings have no decorative trim or backband. There is no evidence of the windows ever having had shutters. All windows have modern sashes except for one ground story opening which retains an early and possibly original six pane sash. One second story window at the west end of the front elevation has been enlarged slightly. Small windows are present in the end walls.
Entrances are located in the two center bays of the front elevation. Both entrances are treated identically with framing like that of the windows. Each door has a transom. The western most entrance has its four light transoms above a 19th century six panel door on which two of the panels have been replaced with glass. The other door is modern. All the ground story entrances are located in the south or front and north elevations. The north wall entrance is flanked by a pair of stone piers with a frame gable roof which are not original.
The roof is sheathed with corrugated sheet metal and terminates with barge-boards set directly against the end walls. Plain boxing finishes the eaves. Brick chimneys are located inside the end walls. The larger chimney at the east end has been rebuilt.
Interior
The interior of the house is divided into two rooms at the main story, each with a fireplace, a tightwinder staircase and cupboards in the end wall. Each of these rooms was subdivided with 20th century partitions which have been removed recently. The south room features doors with high raised panels held within casings having quarter round molded trim. The mantel piece has decorative reeding and a pair of oval plaques, one at each side. The other room at the main level has cavetto trim on the door casings and mantel piece which appears newer than that in the south room. The small mantel in the north room is not original to the large service fireplace there. The doors have low relief panels. The second story is divided into four small rooms served by two short hallways. Two of these rooms have fireplaces in the end walls. The basement like the main story is divided into two rooms, each with its own door to the exterior. The easternmost room has a large service fireplace with a deep brick hearth. This room is finished with plaster, painted woodwork and door casings with quarter round trim. Most rooms retain original random width flooring. Notable about the attic is the early insulation system employed. The attic floor boards carry a layer of lime and clay mortar, giving the attic an earthen floor approximately one inch thick. This treatment has been associated with 18th century construction in southern Pennsylvania.
West of the house is the bank barn, a stone end structure with framed gables sheathed with german siding. The end walls are pierced with narrow vertical slits for ventilation. The house and barn are in fair to good condition and have been prepared for restoration which is about to begin. They stand amid apple trees, part of a working orchard.
Several hundred feet south of the house is a double arched stone bridge, county bridge #128, which carries Montgomery Township Route 331 over the Concocheague Creek. Known as Hays Bridge it would appear to date from the first half of the 19th century but the construction date and engineer are not known. Constructed of coursed local limestone the bridge is 100 feet long. The bridge has two 50 foot arches which are supported by a concrete substructure. Only a one lane bridge, the tape deck is 15 feet and only has a 10 ton limit. In 1971 the bridge was repaired and completely repainted.
Southwest of the stone bridge just above the confluence of Licking Creek and the Conococheague Creek is “Red Bridge” or “Witherspoon’s Bridge”, a covered bridge (county bridge #120) carrying Township Route 328, also a dirt road, across Licking Creek. Built in 1883 by S. Stouffer, the Burr truss bridge is 87 feet long, 14 feet wide with strong wing walls extending 45 feet. It is of timber frame construction with a corrugated sheet metal roof. This bridge was repaired and painted in 1974. This is the only remaining covered bridge in Franklin County.
Significance
The Hays Bridge Rural Historic District consists of an early 19th century farm complex with a stone house and barn, a stone arched bridge, also presumably dating from the early 19th century and a covered bridge dated 1883. The district which includes slightly more than 11 acres is located near the confluence of Licking Creek and the Conococheague Creek in Montgomery Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
The complex is significant primarily for its architecture reflecting prominent regional vernacular construction techniques. It is also important for its representation of 19th century engineering abilities particularly with regard to the two bridges, both of which have withstood major floods and modern day traffic and remain in good condition. Since the house and barn were at one time part of a farm, they are also important for their contribution to regional agricultural history. The district also has great scenic value. Located just above the confluence of the two creeks, rimmed with 1imestone hills and cliffs, and crossed by two unpaved township roads, the Hays Bridge Historic District has an attractive setting with little modern intrusion.
The architectural significance of the structures should be elaborated upon briefly. The house, barn and one of the bridges are constructed of native limestone and are part of an important building tradition in southern Pennnsy1vania where limestone is a prominent part of the landscape. Most stone buildings in this region date from the 18th and early 19th centuries. The house would appear to have been built during the latter part of the first quarter of the 19th century as suggested by its exterior masonry and woodwork and its interior woodwork. It seems to have had some refurbishing later in the 19th century. The interior floor plan, consisting of two rooms on an axis at the main story with fireplaces in the end walls and tightwinder staircases illustrates Pennsylvania vernacular building traditions suggesting British origins.
Unfortunately records of ownership for this property are scarce. Local traditions relate that it was known as the Hays farm. It was owned by David E. and W. A. Hays in 1864. Presumab1y the farm was inhabited by the Hays family prior to that time. However, no one by the name of Hays is listed on the 1798 U. S. Direct Tax for Montgomery Township. Adjoining this property to the east is Irwinton which was the home of the Irwin family. One of the Irwin daughters married William Henry Harrison, Jr. and was mistress of the White House. Another daughter married John Scott Harrison and became the mother of Benjamin Harrison.
Stone bridges were once numerous in Franklin County. Today because of increased traffic and modernization of roads, few of these structures remain. Those still in use are threatened with destruction. Although not as old as the stone bridges, even fewer covered bridges are to be seen in southern Pennsylvania.
Major Bibliographical References
Franklin County Land Records.
Franklin County Probate Records.
Pomeroy & Beers, Atlas of Franklin County 1868. Knightstown, Indiana: The Bookmark. Reprint 1974.
“Old Bridges of Franklin County” by Frederick Fleming Unger
The Mercersburg Journal 1941, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.
Contact Information:
If you have older or better photographs, other documents and information and are willing to share, please send email to: andersonmccullohmccunefcpa@gmail.com
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Related Genealogy Web Site: Genealogy of Anderson, McCullough, McCulloh, McCune, & Humphreys families, Franklin County, Pennsylvania
This web site link below contains the Genealogy of Oliver Anderson and his related lines of Franklin County, Pennsylvania (Anderson, McCullough, McCulloh, McCune, Humphreys) which is documented by Elizabeth Wolff's book "Early History and Genealogy of the Anderson-McCullough-McCune Families and Related Lines of Franklin County, Pa. Much of her information and more current information provided by many other descendants of Oliver Anderson is on the Web Site: http://sites.google.com/site/andersonmccullohmccune/Home
Related Pages and web sites:
Witherspoon Red Covered Bridge
Oliver Anderson Genealogy Web Site: http://sites.google.com/site/andersonmccullohmccune/Home