Once common sights, Kentucky’s covered bridges have dwindled. Explore a few more
Over the last several weeks, we’ve spotlighted Kentucky’s surviving covered bridges, of which only 11 remain standing.
In the first in our series, we visited Bourbon and Franklin counties and two so-called kissing bridges there.
Our second installment introduced three more covered bridges, the Goddard, Johnson Creek and Ringo’s Mill structures.
Next up we swung into Mason, Greenup and Lewis counties to review the history of some the bridges located there.
In our final piece on the documented history of Kentucky’s covered bridges, we bring you three more. These in particular bring home the resilience of such structures, most of which were built in the mid to late 1800s and continued to accommodate traffic well into the 20th century.
Travel with us to the sites of the Walcott, Oldtown and Hillsboro covered bridges, via their applications to the National Register of Historic Places.
Walcott Covered Bridge, Bracken County
Boasting a “complex design” of “queen and king-post type” trusses, the Walcott Bridge was built some time in the late 19th century, according to its record with the NRHP.
“The bridge was built on property belonging to the Murray family, and, from all indications, replaced an earlier covered bridge,” the record’s author wrote.
The structure is also called the White Bridge, the record, which was penned in May 1975, notes.
“According to Murray family history, there did exist a covered bridge in the vicinity of the present White Bridge as early as 1835,” the surveyor wrote in May of 1975.
The bridge itself can be found in Walcott at a point where Kentucky Highway 1159 once crossed Locust Creek in Bracken County. It is 75 feet long.
In 1954, a new concrete bridge was built about 200 feet northwest of the Walcott Covered Bridge, and the older structure was bypassed by highway traffic.
“The bridge is in fair condition (the roof was replaced in 1954), but in need of repair. It is currently being maintained by local citizens. Now closed to vehicular traffic, the bridge and surrounding grounds are used as a park area. It is clearly visible from the highway and the newer bridge and has become a popular tourist attraction,” the bridge’s record notes.
Bridge coordinates: 38°44′00″N 84°6′2″W
Distance from Lexington: About an hour and 40 minutes
Oldtown Covered Bridge, Greenup County
Withstanding two floods – one in 1913 and the other in 1937 – the Oldtown Bridge continued to serve locals up to the mid-1970s with a weight limit of 4 tons.
The structure sits in Argillite on Little Sandy River.
By the 70s, the bridge had been restored to its original appearance, with workers replacing its second tin roof and wooden siding with more than 10,000 shingles and boards rived from straight-grained oak.
“No finish is applied as weathering forms a natural protective surface,” the surveyor wrote on the bridge’s NRHP application from July 1975. “The approaches to the bridge have also been improved and the area surrounding the bridge has been cleared with plans calling for a park in the vicinity of the structure.”
Bridge coordinates: 38°25′53″N 82°53′42″W
Distance from Lexington: About 3 hours
The Hillsboro Covered Bridge, Fleming County
Also called the Grange City Bridge, the Hillsboro Covered Bridge stretches across Fox Creek in Fleming County, adjacent to Kentucky Route No. 111 and roughly 13 miles outside of Flemingsburg.
The surveyor who created its record with the NRHP, dated July 11, 1975, notes it was probably built in the late 1860s.
About a century later, it fell out of vehicle use when a modern, concrete bridge was built 50 yards upstream.
“The bridge’s timbers are of yellow pine with double-shouldered braces. A single 94-foot span, it was probably built by the same people who constructed Ringo’s Mill Covered Bridge several miles up Fox Creek. Abutments of soapstone or ‘red stone’ sit on each side of the creek and corrugated sheet metal covers the roof and sides. Originally it was double -sided with yellow poplar,” the bridge’s surveyor wrote.
Bridge coordinates: 38°15′17″N 83°39′11″W
Distance from Lexington: An hour and 45 minutes
About this series
Kentucky is home to 11 remaining covered bridges as of 2022.
If you have a memory, older photographs or an experience to share about the history of any of the structures we featured in this series, we welcome you to email ask@herald-leader.com. We may include your tips in our stories.
Do you have a question about Kentucky’s history for our service journalism team? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Know Your Kentucky Form or email ask@herald-leader.com.
