Cogan House Covered Bridge - Names

Names

The covered bridge is 1.4 miles (2.3 km) south of Pennsylvania Route 184 on Campbell Road (Township Road 784), 0.1 miles (0.2 km) past the intersection with Covered Bridge Road. Its official name on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is "Cogan House Covered Bridge". It is the only covered bridge ever built in Cogan House Township and the name comes from the township, as well as the village of Cogan House, which is northeast of the bridge. Cogan House Township and the village are named for David Cogan, who settled on Larrys Creek in 1825. Cogan was one of the few settlers in the area for many years and grew tired of living nearly alone in the wilderness. In 1842 he abandoned his homestead, as did a neighbor named Carter. Their houses were used by hunters and travelers and the name Cogan's House was given to the area. Cogan House Township was formed from parts of Jackson and Mifflin Townships on December 6, 1843.

Since the bridge's 1998 restoration, the Lycoming County Commissioners have officially called it the "Buckhorn Covered Bridge". The name comes from the bridge's location at the base of Buckhorn Mountain, and from the road to the former village of Buckhorn, which crossed the creek on it. This is the name used on the official plaque erected by the commissioners to mark its restoration and placement on the NRHP, despite the different name used on the Register itself. The commissioners chose "Buckhorn Covered Bridge" based on one of the names used in Benjamin and June Evans' 1993 book Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges: A Complete Guide. Historically, the commissioners used "Cogan House Covered Bridge" as the official name.

Historian Milton W. Landis uses "Larrys Creek Covered Bridge" since it crosses Larrys Creek, and notes this was the name used by other local historians. Larrys Creek is named for Larry Burt, who was the first settler at the mouth of the creek when the surveyors came through in 1769. Landis acknowledges the "Cogan House" name, and says the bridge has also been known by the names of "several tenants who lived in the little farm adjacent" to it.

While Landis does not give these different names, two other names for the bridge are known and may come from some of these tenants. The first of these is "Day's Bridge" and it is clear that this is another name for the Cogan House Covered Bridge. The second of these, "Plankenhorn Bridge", is a name in a list of existing and vanished covered bridges in Lycoming County. Although the association of this name with the Cogan House Covered Bridge is not made explicitly, it is described as still standing on Larrys Creek and being north of a bridge in Mifflin Township. This is the only known covered bridge that meets those criteria.