Langley Covered Bridge, Centreville, Michigan, photo by bill.d
Bill writes this of the Langely Covered Bridge over the St. Joseph River, a Michigan Registered Historic Site:
This is the longest of Michigan’s few remaining covered bridges. It is 282 feet long with three, 94-foot spans of the Howe-truss construction. The bridge was built in 1887 by Pierce (?) Bodner of Parkville, using the best quality white pine for the frame timbers. The bridge’s name honors a pioneer Centreville family. When the Sturgis Dam was built in 1910, the Langley Bridge had to be raised eight feet. In 1950-51 extensive repairs and replacement of parts on the bridge were carried out by the St. Joseph County Road Commission to preserve for the future this historic link with a bygone era.
Personal note – the bridge is only one lane wide. Drivers take turns crossing the bridge, but this is a part of Michigan that doesn’t see much traffic anyway, so the wait is seldom long. The speed limit on the bridge is 15 mph.
Wikipedia’s entry on the Langley Covered Bridge adds that it was named for Thomas W. Langley and his family, the first settlers who helped establish the village of Centreville in St. Joseph County in the mid-19th century.
Check it out as big as a bridge and see more in Bill’s Michigan: Saint Joseph County slideshow.
More Michigan bridges on Michigan in Pictures!
Michigan in Pictures 
Wow….I had no idea about this.
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Grew up nearby in Mendon and drove over the covered bridge many times. As a kid, you don’t realize cool and rare it actually is.
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one of the few bright spots of my job location changing from Portage to Centreville: I get to drive over this bridge twice a day. I love the sounds it makes.
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Cool old bridge … I was doing a little covered bridge research and found that this entry about the Langley Bridge is also spelled ” Langely ” at least twice. So which is it please ….. Langley or Langely ?
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” Langley”
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