Covered Bridges of West Virginia Tour

1. Fish Creek Covered Bridge

The Fish Creek Covered Bridge – also known as Hundred Covered Bridge – is the last remaining covered bridge in Wetzel County and one of two remaining single kingpost truss bridges in West Virginia. The bridge was constructed circa 1881 and measures approximately eleven feet wide by thirty-six feet long. The bridge was reinforced with steel stringers prior to 1981, before being completely rebuilt in 2001. This reconstruction salvaged only four timber beams and the stone abutments upon which the bridge was originally built. The Fish Creek Covered Bridge is owned by the West Virginia Department of Transportation and remains in operation.

2. Dents Run Covered Bridge

The Dents Run Covered Bridge was constructed in 1889 by W. A. Loar and William and Joseph Mercer. It is one of the smallest extant covered bridges in West Virginia and the only extant covered bridge in Monongalia County. The bridge has been modified slightly over the years and no longer serves vehicle traffic. The lasting construction and unique architecture both serve to make Dents Run Covered Bridge a significant structure.

3. Barrackville Covered Bridge

The Barrackville Covered Bridge is one of two surviving covered bridges built by West Virginia bridge architect Lemuel Chenoweth. It was originally built in 1853 as part of the Fairmont-Wheeling Turnpike, and was one of several bridges that Chenoweth was commissioned to build on the route. The 145-foot timber bridge was constructed across the Buffalo Creek to facilitate the transportation of commercial goods. It was built using the Burr arch truss style, a design popular in the east at the time. The Barrackville Bridge was notably one of the few covered bridges in West Virginia to survive the Civil War. It continued to operate until the 1980s when it was replaced by a modern highway bridge nearby. The bridge underwent a full restoration in 1998-1999 and is open to pedestrian traffic today. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

4. Center Point Covered Bridge

The Center Point Covered Bridge crosses McElroy Creek and was constructed 1888-1889. T. W. Ancell and E. Underwood were responsible for the stone abutments and John Ash and S. H. Smith built the wooden superstructure. The bridge is one of only five bridges in West Virginia constructed using the Long struss style. The bridge was used until 1940, when a nearby bypass bridge was created. In 1981, the bridge was donated to the Doddridge County Historical Society who took up the task of restoring it. Though no longer used for road traffic, the bridge still serves the local farming community. It is the only extant covered bridge in Doddridge County and remains in good condition. There is also a nearby historical marker for the bridge.

5. Fletcher Covered Bridge

The Fletcher Covered Bridge was built in 1891 by L. E. Sturm and Soloman Swiger for a total of $1372.46. The multiple kingpost truss structure measures roughly twelve feet wide and fifty-eight feet long. Though restored in 2002, the bridge remains almost completely unmodified from its original form. This makes the Fletcher Covered Bridge significant as it continues to allow vehicle traffic, unlike most extant covered bridges which have been reinforced, no longer allow vehicle traffic, or both. The Fletcher Covered Bridge is also one of only two covered bridges left in Harrison County.

6. Simpson Creek Covered Bridge

Built in 1881, the Simpson Creek Covered Bridge measures approximately fourteen feet wide by seventy-five feet long. It was initially built by Asa S. Hugill a half mile from its current location and was moved after being washed out by a flood in the late nineteenth century. Though the bridge was restored in 2002, it displays no structural modifications – a rarity for covered bridges. These days, the Simpson Creek Covered Bridge serves only as a cultural and tourism site. A plaque for the bridge was erected nearby in 1983.

7. Philippi Covered Bridge

Constructed in 1852 by Emmett J. O’Brien and Lemuel and Eli Chenoweth, the Philippi Covered Bridge is West Virginia’s oldest and longest extant covered bridge. The almost exclusively wooden structure utilizes the Burr arch truss design for support. The bridge was the site of the site of the Battle of Philippi, often cited as the first land battle of the Civil War. Narrowly escaping destruction several times over the course of the war, the Philippi Covered Bridge was modified and strengthened in 1934. Tragedy struck the bridge in 1989 when a large portion of it burned. However, the bridge was authentically restored to its original design. One of only two covered bridges in Barbour County, the Philippi Covered Bridge is also the only covered bridge in the United States to serve a Federal Highway.

8. Carrollton Covered Bridge

Constructed in 1856, the historic Carrollton Covered Bridge crosses the Buckhannon River in Barbour County. Brothers Emmett J. and Daniel O’Brien – also responsible for the creation of the Philippi Covered Bridge – constructed the Carrollton span. The bridge utilizes the patented Burr arch design, one of only three bridges in West Virginia to do so. The original bridge has been restored three times; in 1963 and 2002 to ensure continued use, and again in 2017 following arson. Though the future of the bridge is uncertain it remains the second longest and third oldest covered bridge in West Virginia.

9. Walkersville Covered Bridge

The Walkersville Covered Bridge was built in 1903 by John G. Sprigg for a total cost of $567. The Lewis County Court had originally planned for an iron bridge to occupy this crossing of the West Fork River but changed their mind in late 1902. The Walkersville Covered Bridge is constructed with queenpost truss supported and measures twelve feet wide by thirty-nine feet long. The bridge has been restored twice, though these restorations have left the original design of the bridge largely unmodified. The Walkersville Covered Bridge is the only extant covered bridge in Lewis County.

10. Sarvis Fork Covered Bridge

The Sarvis Fork Covered Bridge was built in the late 1880s by William Quincy, J. Grim, and R. B. Cunningham. It has been historically confused with another bridge built nearby. In 1924, the Sarvis Fork Covered Bridge was moved from its original location to a different location nearby. This move maintained the structure and design of the bridge. The 101 foot long structure was restored in 2000 and continues to be used for vehicle traffic today. It is one of only two covered bridges left in Jackson County.

11. Staats Mill Covered Bridge

The Staats Mill Covered Bridge was built by William Quincy, J. Grim, H. T. Hartley, and Enoch Staats in 1887. The eleven foot wide by ninety-seven foot long bridge is an emblematic surviving example of the Long truss style. Though partially modified in 1971, the bridge was moved to the Cedar Lakes Conference Center in 1983 and restored to its original condition. Two historical markers are associated with the bridge. One sits near the current location of the covered bridge while another marks the original location a few miles away. The Staats Mill is one of two extant covered bridges in Jackson County.

12. Mud River Covered Bridge

The Mud River Covered Bridge in Milton is one of seventeen surviving covered bridges in West Virginia. It is also the last Howe truss style covered bridge in the state. The fourteen-foot wide, 112-foot long structure was built over the Mud River around 1876 to accommodate increased traffic and commerce in the community. The bridge underwent few changes until a restoration project by the West Virginia Department of Transportation in 1971. In 2001, the bridge was moved to its current location on a pond in Pumpkin Park, the annual host of both the West Virginia Pumpkin Festival and the Cabell County Fair. The covered bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

13. Laurel Creek Covered Bridge

The Laurel Creek Covered Bridge was built 1910-1911 by Lewis Miller and Robert Arnott. At just twenty-four and a half feet long, the bridge is the shortest covered bridge in West Virginia. It is also the youngest covered bridge in West Virginia – of the seventeen extant bridges, only three were constructed after 1900. The bridge utilizes a queenpost truss uniquely connected by metal tension rods. The structure has been only minorly modified and remains in use for vehicle traffic. It is one of two remaining covered bridges in Monroe County, the other being Indian Creek Covered Bridge.

14. Indian Creek Covered Bridge

The Indian Creek Covered Bridge was built circa 1898-1903 by two brothers, Ray and Oscar Weikel. Only sixteen and eighteen at the time, the brothers used the Long truss style to create the fourteen foot wide by fifty foot long bridge. The bridge fell out of use in 1929 and was in disrepair when the Monroe County Historical Society acquired it in 1965. The historical society restored the bridge as closely as possible to its original state while attempting to maintain the historical integrity of the structure. The bridge was repaired again in 2000. Alongside Laurel Creek Covered Bridge, Indian Creek Covered Bridge is one of only two extant covered bridges in Monroe County.

15. Hokes Mill Covered Bridge

Built at some point between 1897 and 1899, the Hokes Mill Covered Bridge is one of two extant covered bridges in Greenbrier County. The $700 bridge was built to provide access over Second Creek to nearby Hokes Mill. The approximately eighty-one by twelve-foot bridge is one of only five extant covered bridges in West Virginia to be built using Long trusses. Though the Hokes Mill Covered Bridge was modified in the twentieth century, a 2001 restoration largely restored it to its original condition. These days, the bridge accommodates only pedestrian traffic.

16. Herns Mill Covered Bridge

Lewisburg's Herns Mill Covered Bridge was constructed in 1884 at the cost of $800. The approximately fifty-four foot long by eleven foot-wide bridge features queen post trusses, board-and-batten siding, and a galvanized metal sheeting roof. The bridge was reinforced with steel stringers in the mid-1930s, making it the oldest steel stringer bridge in West Virginia. Herns Mill Covered Bridge was renovated a second time in 2000. This renovation replaced many original components and improved the stability of the bridge. In addition to attracting tourists and sightseers, the structure also remains in use as a crossing for local traffic.

17. Locust Creek Covered Bridge

The Locust Creek Covered Bridge was constructed circa 1870-1888 by George B. Cochran and R. N. Bruce. The bridge rather uniquely utilizes a double Warren truss – a system of beams placed at sixty-degree angles to form equilateral triangles. It was heavily restored in 1904 and steel girders were added to support traffic later in the twentieth century. A nearby bypass bridge was constructed in 1990, and the Locust Creek Covered Bridge fell out of vehicle use. In 2001, the bridge was again restored, and the steel girders were removed. This restoration brought the bridge more closely back to its original form. The Locust Creek Covered Bridge is the only extant covered bridge in Pocahontas County.

18. Covered Bridges of West Virginia

Though once common in West Virginia, only seventeen extant covered bridges remain today. The heyday of covered bridges was primarily in the mid nineteenth to the turn of the twentieth century. These structures were crucial to the development of the region and display a remarkable variety of architectural styles. Thanks to conservation and restoration efforts, the seventeen covered bridges left are all in stable condition and some even continue to serve vehicle traffic. West Virginia’s covered bridges are significant components of the economic, cultural, and architectural history of the region.

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Covered Bridges of West Virginia Tour

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