The history of covered bridges can be traced as far back as 780 B.C. in ancient Babylon. In America the first covered bridge was built in Connecticut in 1804 by Theodore Burr. Named the Waterford Bridge, it spanned the Hudson River in New York and lasted for 105 years. The next two were built years later in 1851 and 1852 in Oregon City, Oregon, but were washed away by floodwaters in 1853. Before there were covered bridges there were ferries to transport horses, passengers and buggies to the other side of the rivers. Many of these were run by merchants holding the monopoly on the local economy with the fees from the ferries. This prompted taxpayers to build bridges that would be free to all travelers after a toll to help offset costs.

Early bridges were built for utility. The later ones were also built with appearance in mind. Although Connecticut boasts the first covered bridge in America, Pennsylvania is usually foremost in the minds of covered bridge lovers. At least 1,500 were built from 1820 to1900 and Pennsylvania has the largest number of covered bridges in the nation: 219 in 40 of its 67 counties. Floods washing away the bridges caused the need for redesigning them. Builders began to use a combination of iron and wood trusses. The invention of the automobile encouraged builders to use steel. But with World War I came a shortage of steel and the wood bridges again became the norm. Now they were being built with windows, laminated floors, asphalt surfaces and interior whitewashing.

he first long-span bridges were wooden. Made from available timber, such as spruce and white pine, the bridges were flexible and strong but decayed quickly when exposed to rain and snow. By the early 1800s, bridge builders began to protect their bridges with roofs and siding – making "covered bridges." Some early bridgewrights invented truss designs of their own – Ithiel Town, Samuel Long, and William How patented trusses that still bear their names. Since the heyday of the covered bridge they have been rapidly disappearing through neglect, flood, arson and progress. Prior to the Agnes Flood of 1972, Pennsylvania had 271 covered bridges, spread across 41 of its 67 counties. Since that time the number has been decreasing at a fast rate.

The early stone arch bridges were really only practical on smaller streams and only then in areas with an abundance of good building stone. The peak of the stone bridge is Pennsylvania can be seen in the Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna River built by the Pennsylvania Railroad and contains a quarter of a million tons of stone. The covered bridge was the transition from the stone to the cast-iron in most places. Uncovered wooden bridges typically have a lifespan of only 20 years because of the effects of rain and sun, but a covered bridge can last over 100 years. In the United States, only about 1 in 10 survived the 20th century. The relatively small number of surviving bridges is due to deliberate replacement, neglect, and the high cost of restoration.