A small wooden covered bridge, spanning Hickory Creek, was erected along Cleland Mill Road in North Beaver Township in 1882. It was located at the former site of a three-story grist mill built by Thomas Clelland (Cleland) in about 1830. The mill was closed in 1851 when its associated dam was washed away. The mill building was later lost to a fire in about 1873.
The rural bridge was sometimes referred to as Flat Rock Bridge, as it was located right next to Flat Rock – a small swimming hole that was popular with residents of Mount Jackson and Mahoningtown. The structure was slated for replacement in the early 1950’s and was severely damaged by an arsonist’s fire on the early morning of Thursday, October 8, 1953. It was replaced with a new one-lane bridge, with a steel foundation and a wooden deck, that was opened in January 1954. The wooden planks of this deck were replaced in September-October 1977.
In the mid-1980’s, there was discussion about moving the bridge, located on a sharp curve, 500 feet downstream to straighten out Cleland Mill Road. This never took place, and in May 1990, a contract was let for $472,000 to replace the structure with a modern span at the same general location. A new steel and concrete bridge was opened to traffic on Thursday, May 16, 1991. (Updated Jan 2026)
 The original covered bridge on Cleland Mill Road, built in 1882, was lost to a fire in October 1953. It was replaced with a simple one-lane wooden bridge soon after. (c1950) Full Size |
 Cleland Mill Bridge (or Cleland Mill Road Bridge) is situated on a sharp curve in the road. Although there was serious discussion in the mid-1980’s of relocating it to straighten out the road this effort was never undertaken. |
Comments
Eric Jefferis #
Hi. I lived a couple hundred yards from this bridge growing up in the 70s and 80s. Some of the details here are incorrect. After the covered bridge burned in the 1950, the original foundation was used and it remained a single lane surfaced bridge until the late 1980s. That is when it was finally replaced with a modern two lane bridge.
As an aside. The original bridge foundation stones are now used for landscaping!
Eric Jefferis #
Hi. I lived a couple hundred yards from this bridge growing up in the 70s and 80s. Some of the details here are incorrect. After the covered bridge burned in the 1950, the original foundation was used and it remained a single lane wood surfaced bridge until the late 1980s. That is when it was finally replaced with a modern two lane bridge.
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