Built in the 1800s, the Old Covered Bridge in Russell, Pennsylvania spanned the Conewango Creek. It connected the folks on one side of the Conewango with folks on the other side. Sad to say, the bridge fell into disrepair; and, in 1937 before my baby eyes could glimpse it, townsfolk tore it down and replaced it with a "new bridge" which is the one that I remember from my childhood years. Even so, the Old Covered Bridge ,as seen in our family photo album, filled me with nostalgia; for, I have always been a lover of history. By the time I arrived in history our immediate family lived on the main Russell side of the Conewango. But, for a couple of generations the Briggs and Akeley folks did live across the bridge and had to get to the main part of town by way of the Old Covered Bridge.
It was over the old covered bridge that my great great great grandfather Raymond Briggs and his wife Abigail Akeley Briggs road their horses and wagons. Joseph Akeley, brother of Abigail, had built their home along Solinger's Run. Raymond and Abigail's house has endured the test of time, as have many other very old homes in and around Russell, and is still standing in this year 2004.