Perkiomen Bridge

The Perkiomen Bridge, originally built 1798-99 and widened in 1928, is one of the oldest stone arch bridges in the United States still in use. It crosses Perkiomen Creek near Collegeville, Pennsylvania. The bridge's six semi-circular arches cover a total of over 300 ft. The longest arch spans 76 ft. Its decorative piers and belt courses are unusual for a bridge this old. A lottery financed $20,000 of the original construction. The bridge carried the main road from Philadelphia to Reading, known at various times as the Manatawny Pike, Germantown Pike, the Philadelphia-Reading Pike, and US 422. Since the construction of the US 422 bypass, the road has been known as Ridge Pike or Old US 422.

Architecture
The creek is about 150 ft wide and runs north and south near Collegeville. The road, however, runs northwest to southeast and the bridge crosses perpendicular to the creek causing a sharp turn in the road on the east side of the bridge, and a more gradual bend on the west side. As designed by John Lewis the bridge was 27 ft wide and 453 ft long including the approaches. Five arches cross the creek with the center arch 76 ft long, and the arches next to it 61 ft long. The outside arches are 30 ft long. Supporting the eastern approach is a sixth arch, 56 ft long, which is about 100 ft east of the creek.

The bridge is constructed of cut stones, but they are only laid in regular courses on the spandrels and on the top of the parapet.

The bridge was widened in 1928 by removing all the stone facing on the north side of the bridge, extending the arches 15 ft north with concrete rather than stone, and resetting the facing. This expansion added a third lane of traffic and a sidewalk on the north side. Rounded columns supporting pedestrian viewing bays were added on the north side of the piers. Shorter angular columns were added on the south side of the bridge.

History
The area on the "Pahkehoma" Creek was purchased by William Penn from the Lenni Lenape tribe in 1684 and eventually sold to Thomas Ruyard of London. In 1699 Edward Lane bought the land from Ruyard, and the purchase was confirmed by Penn in 1701. About 1706 the first section of the Perkiomen Bridge Hotel was built on the west bank of the creek, just to the north of the current bridge site, then known as Phillips Ford. In 1728 the Lenni Lenape released their claim on land in the area for "two guns, six coats, six blankets, six duffel match coats, and four kettles," in effect selling the land again.

A second hotel was built in the area by 1770, to accommodate the traffic between Philadelphia and Reading. Several wooden bridges, including a pontoon bridge, were built across the ford before 1797, but they were all destroyed within a few years by springtime flooding.

The Pennsylvania Legislature approved a lottery in 1797 to raise funds for the bridge, eventually raising $20,000. The bridge was completed in 1799 at a cost of $60,000, opening on November 2.