HELLERTOWN, Pa. – The Lehigh Valley is full of historic sites, and one more has officially joined the list.
Hellertown’s Walnut Street “Pony” Bridge has officially been added to the National Register of Historic Places, according to a Facebook post from the Hellertown Historical Society.
“The announcement was delivered by the PA State Historic Preservation Office to Chip Wagner, one of our volunteers who undertook the arduous work of documenting the bridge’s history for application to the National Park Service,” the Facebook post said.
- Hellertown's Pony Bridge has been named to the National Register of Historic Places
- It joins more than 100 other Lehigh Valley locations on the list
- The bridge is constructed of cast iron and is 163 years old
The bridge is constructed of cast iron and is 163 years old. Landing on the list means it’s now a designated place worthy of preservation due to its local, state or national significance either in architecture, archaeology, engineering or culture.
The bridge was originally located over Saucon Creek, about 200 yards from where it stands now, just across the street from the Grist Mill — yards from the Saucon Rail Trail.
“When I was a youngster, we probably all called it the Pony Bridge,” Wagner told WLVR last year. “I would say time, memories and changes of people in the area is why it has so many different names.”
The bridge only remains standing today thanks, in part, to a four-year rehabilitation project by Lehigh University students in the 1990s.
Labor was volunteered and materials and machinery were donated for the overhaul.
The bridge joins more than 100 other locations in the Lehigh Valley that are on the register of historic places. That list was started in 1966 to identify and protect historic resources.
Also on the list nearby is the Ehrhart’s Mill Historic District located along Saucon Creek in Lower Saucon Township. The grist mill burned down in 1995, but the district includes several buildings, contributing structures and sites.
The property was entered on the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1987.