Covered Bridges
of Kentucky
Covered Bridges were the answer to treated lumber in the 1700's in
Kentucky. Covered to keep their main timbers from the elements and
structurally sound for many years, hundreds of covered bridges were
built over the next century. Thirteen covered bridges remain today of
the hundreds that used to dot the landscape of Kentucky. Up until 1937,
Kentucky could boast it had the longest covered bridge in the world. The
Butler Station Bridge over the Licking River in Pendleton County was 456
feet long and consisted of three spans 152 feet each. Built in 1871 for
the sum of $18,450, the bridge was demolished in 1937 after high winds
and floodwaters took their toll.
The Civil War was unkind to covered bridges as well. Burned by both
Union and Confederate soldiers alike to aid in or stop a retreat. Time
destroyed many more in the 20th century as modern bridges began to
replace covered bridges. Not until 1996 did the state begin a program to
preserve and repair the old spans.
Every currently remaining covered bridge in the state is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Vernon White wrote an excellent book in 1984 called “Covered Bridges:
Focus on Kentucky”,
Another good reference is “Kentucky Covered Bridges and Water-Powered
Mills” by Robert A. Powell.The surviving
covered bridges are mainly in the Northeastern portion of the state. The
ones that are still in service are:
- The Ruttles Mills Bridge or Colville Bridge
in Bourbon County - This covered bridge over Hinkston Creek was
built in 1877, and was rebuilt after flooding in 1997.
- The Dover Bridge in Mason County. It was
built in 1835 and reinforced more recently with iron beams.
Goddard in Fleming County is a lattice truss bridge 90 feet in
length. Its construction dates are unknown, but likely dates back to
the 1800's.
Another covered bridge in Fleming County.
- The Hillboro Bridges, on what is now KY 111,
it was built just after the Civil War between 1865 and 1870. The
Oldtown Bridge in Greenup County.
- Yet another of Fleming Counties covered
bridges still in use is the 81-foot Ringo’s Mills Bridge.
- Switzer Bridge in Eastern Franklin County
was first built in 1855. It was restored in 1906, and again in 1990.
It was knocked from it moorings by high water and had to be restored
again in 1997.
- Valley Pike Bridge. A private covered bridge
in Mason County. Only 23 feet in length, it was built in 1864.
The covered bridges that are no longer in use
are:
- The Beech Fork Bridge in Washington County.
- The Bennetts Mills Bridge, built 1855 in
Greenup County.
- The Cabin Creek Bridge Lewis County.
- The Johnson Creek Bridge in Robertson
County.
- The Walcott of White Bridge in Bracken
County.
Bridges to the Past is a two-day tour of all of
the covered bridges in the state. Details and an itinerary can be found
on the Bridges to the Past Website.
Author Ron Stemple
Copyright 2006, Ron Dowell |
