Wrightsville Burning of the Bridges

Image of downtown businesses in Wrightsville, PA. Wrightsville was the northern terminus of the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal.

A plaque at Samuel S. Lewis State Park, which overlooks Wrightsville and the Susquehanna River, states that Wrightsville was George Washington's first choice as location of the Capital of the United States.

The world's longest covered bridge (5,960 ft) once spanned the Susquehanna from Wrightsville to neighboring Columbia in Lancaster County. Built in 1814, it was destroyed by high water and ice in 1832. A replacement bridge was burned in June of 1863 by state militia during the Gettysburg Campaign in the American Civil War. Confederate troops under John Brown Gordon formed a bucket brigade to save the town from fire.

Panorama by Alan Chaffee Photography