Kurtz Mill Bridge, Lancaster Central Park January 2020
View from Kurtz Mill Bridge, Lancaster Central Park January 2020
The effect of Hurricane Agnes in 1972 on historic structures in the Susquehanna Valley was brutal. One victim was Kurtz Mill Covered Bridge which was lifted from its foundations on the Conestoga Creek and found smashed up downstream. A Mr. David Esh restored it in 1975 and gifted it to Lancaster County Central Park where it spans Mill Creek a short distance upstream from the Conestoga. Of all the covered bridges I visited in Lancaster County, this one was probably the overall "best" since it was deliberately relocated to a "perfect spot" - which worked! If I could take a visitor to just one bridge in Lancaster, this might be the one with its combination of parking, accessibility, originality, and physical placement.
I previously wrote about covered bridges as "nostalgia" and the rush of feeling experienced when we even see one at a distance, let alone drive through [see: covered bridges]. Kurtz Mill Bridge, however, brings up the topic of authenticity. It is NOT on the National Register of Historic Bridges because it was moved. Forget the fact that it was restored correctly and forget that its new location is far more accessible for people to enjoy it (why have a list of historic places, if not to encourage people to visit?). No, the audacity of Mr. Esh to move the bridge rendered it "inauthentic". Yet, the Colosseum in Rome as we know it is mostly due to Mussolini's madness of restoring Roman monuments. Diriyah in Saudi Arabia [see: Diriyah, Riyadh] is recognized as a World Heritage Monument and the Saudis are rebuilding that from scratch. I am all for protection of sensitive and historical sites, but when the rules attached become so obtuse so as not to serve their original purpose, is there any point?
For me, Kurtz Mill Bridge was the icing on the cake of Lancaster County Central Park (another "I can't believe I never visited this place"). The park itself is glorious and to come upon this "staged" (but gorgeous) covered bridge was a unique and beautiful experience. It gave me pause, however, to wonder what kinds of things I have missed that were not on some "list" due to a bureaucratic detail?