KINGSVILLE, MD—Beneath the rustling autumn leaves of Harford and Baltimore Counties, where the Little Gunpowder Falls murmurs secrets through the woods, stands a relic of a bygone era: the Jericho Covered Bridge. Constructed in 1865, just months after the Civil War’s end, this 92-foot Burr arch truss spans the shallow river like a forgotten whisper from the 19th century. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, it’s the last of its kind in the region—a picturesque timber-and-iron sentinel that once ferried horse-drawn carts and now hums with modern traffic. But as daylight fades, the bridge’s dark folklore emerges, weaving tales of spectral hangings, phantom women, and otherworldly guardians that have chilled locals and thrill-seekers alike for generations.
The eerie legends surrounding Jericho aren’t mere campfire fodder; they’ve persisted through restorations in 1937, 1982, and as recently as 2015, drawing ghost hunters to its creaking planks. “It’s like the bridge holds onto the pain of the past,” says local historian Elena Ramirez, who leads tours through nearby Jerusalem Mill Village, a Quaker settlement just yards downstream. “Whether it’s echoes of slavery or something older, the stories refuse to die.” But is Jericho truly haunted, or is it the power of suggestion amplifying the shadows of history? As All Hallows’ Eve approaches, the debate rages on, fueled by eyewitness accounts and skeptical scrutiny.
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