Читать книгу Bartram Covered Bridge: Spanning History - George D. Conn - Страница 6

The road that is presently named Goshen Road was, in the mid-1800s, referred to as Haverford Road. The early road was a main transportation route between Lancaster and Philadelphia. Through the first decades of the 1800s, its importance and use was steadily growing. Whether the traffic was by foot, by horse or by wagon, it was necessary to ford Crum Creek to continue traveling.

When the stream was flowing normally, fording was not a particularly bad problem. However, when the creek swelled from heavy rains, fording could become treacherous. The movement of people and goods was delayed. Beside the inconvenience, businessmen, from near and far, who had to travel that road, saw their livelihoods affected.

Thus it was that in 1859 the local citizens, along with businessmen and others who would benefit from a bridge, drew up and signed a petition. Signers of the petition included Israel Bartram, Isaac Thomas and Eli Lewis, all of whom owned large parcels of land near the site of the proposed bridge. The petition stated their perceived need for a bridge and also stated the inability of the two townships (Willistown and Newtown) to bear the building expense. On November 16, 1859, the petition was filed with the Chester County Court of Quarter Sessions.