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35 of America's Best Covered Bridges (new)

With help from leading experts, we selected some of the most noteworthy bridges across the country.
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Ackley Bridge

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Ackley Bridge is an excellent example of a multiple kingpost truss and a noteworthy early exemplar of covered bridge preservation efforts in the U.S.
Ackley Bridge is an excellent example of a multiple kingpost truss and a noteworthy early exemplar of covered bridge preservation efforts in the U.S.

Where: The Ford Museum, Dearborn, Michigan
When Built: 1832
Builders: Joshua Ackley and Daniel Clouse 
Truss: Multiple Kingpost

Built in 1832 by Joshua Ackley (b.1805) and Daniel Clouse (b.1812), the Ackley Bridge originally spanned a branch of Wheeling Creek between Greene and Washington Counties in Pennsylvania, where it carried traffic for more than a century.

In 1937, when the bridge was slated for replacement, one of Ackley’s descendents acquired the structure and offered it to industrialist Henry Ford for his open-air village museum at Dearborn, Michigan. That winter, the 80-foot covered bridge was carefully dismantled and transported to Greenfield Village where it was re-erected over a man-made pond.

The structure underwent repairs in 1974, stabilization in 1999, and restoration in 2000.

From: The Covered Bridge | Summer 2021, Volume: 27, No: 1

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