sand-beach-bridge-dauphin-co-pa-382201-51465-fred-a
Sand Beach
38-22-01
May 1965
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What a shock to see this pic. I jumped off of this bridge many many times. I lived in union deposit.
What year was the Sand Beach bridge built? We used to ride over this bridge every Sunday on our way to church in East Hanover Twp. We were devastated when it was burned. Can anyone tell me what year that was and what the end of that story is. Did anyone ever make restitution for destroying that wonderful landmark from our past?
This bridge was destroyed by fire in the summer of 1967 not long after the Hershey Estates had painstakingly restored it. The restored timbers had been covered with creosote and when it caught fire it burned quickly. My father was the minister at the Bible Church in Sand Beach and I grew up in the little community. I was among the first into the bridge with a wet towel to try to beat the flames out but by the time I got there it was out of control and I was fortunate to get out. Flames shot several hundred feet into the air with wood sparks and smoke billowing on the wind toward Hershey. There were many tears in the shocked crowd of community folks – we all had learned to swim, swing on the rope, fish off the pier and, most importantly spoon our girls on that beautiful bridge. I was baptized just a hundred yards downstream and have old 8mm film of the even in 1954 with the bridge in the background.
It was built c. 1865 and was used by the National Guard when they went on training FTX events. The cadets in the State Police Academy in Hershey used the bridge on their summer motorcycle treks around the country. Imagine hearing 80+ Harleys thundering through the old bridge. Magnificent!
Thank you for taking the time for the history of the bridge, and your personal story about the bridge. It’s always nice to hear personal stories about the things my grandfather photographed.