Skip to Content
ALERT! Berks County South Campus Closed Monday, October 5: The Berks County South Campus will be closed to staff and the public on Monday, October 5, to complete a scheduled electrical utility project. The South Campus Building will be without power from 8 am to 5 pm while Met-Ed conducts this work. For safety reasons, no one will be permitted to enter or access the South Campus building for any reason between 8 am to 5 pm on October 5.

The County appreciates the public’s understanding and apologizes for any inconvenience this temporary closure may cause.

Stop 12: Reber's Mill And Bridge

Stop 12: Reber's Mill And Bridge

At this stop, where Plum Creek flows into the “Tully,” Union Canal boats crossed the “Plum" by means of a stone and wooden aqueduct. This canal aqueduct can best be described as a wooden bridge filled with water which transported canal barges over the creek. A few of the original red sandstone blocks which supported the wooden aqueduct can still be observed north of this marker.

In 1951, the steel highway bridge which spans the creek today, replaced Reber’s Covered bridge (1837) which was 129 feet in length. This bridge provided access to Reber’s Grist Mill, which was first named Hiester’s Mill after having been built by Gabriel and Jonathan Hiester in 1760. The Hiesters and Rebers intermarried and around the time of the Civil War, Joseph Reber enlarged the mill to its full capacity. Little of the mill remains today.

The trail crosses Plum Creek on Rush’s Iron Truss Bridge (1905), which was moved here from the Oley Valley, and concludes at the junction of Reber’s Bridge.

Intro | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Union Canal TrailUnion Canal Bicycle & Walking Trail