Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Covered Bridges (part 2)

I was interested in finding out some history of covered bridges after posting my first blog in this series. Wikepedia shares this... 

The oldest surviving truss bridge in the world is the Kapellbrücke in Switzerland, first built in the 1300s. Modern-style timber truss bridges were pioneered in Switzerland in the mid-1700s.[9] Germany has 70 surviving historic wooden covered bridges.[10]

Spreuer Bridge in Lucerne

About 14,000 covered bridges have been built in the United States,[13] mostly in the years 1825 to 1875.[2] The first documented was the Permanent Bridge, completed in 1805 to span the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia.[14][15] However, most other early examples of covered bridges do not appear until the 1820s. Extant bridges from that decade include New York's Hyde Hall Bridge and Pennsylvania's Hassenplug Bridge, both built in 1825, and the Haverhill–Bath Covered Bridge and the Roberts Covered Bridge, in New Hampshire and Ohio respectively, both built in 1829.[5]

The vast majority of America's remaining covered bridges can be found in the eastern states with the notable exception of Oregon, which possesses a collection of around fifty.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covered_bridge
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Baltimore


Bartram-Goshen Covered Bridge


The following are taken from the two directions of this covering over a roadway, named Blue Ridge, Georgia. I don't see any indication that it is really a bridge, nor goes over a waterway of any kind. Can it be considered a covered bridge?




Bridge of Dreams - Brinkhaven, Ohio
Someone is thinking along more modern lines for this bridge.


Brinkhaven, Ohio

It seems someone else liked that name...


Another view for Brinkhaven, Ohio


Bridge On The Kal-Haven Trail by Michael Kucinski



Unknown red wooden bridge. I tried to increase contrast and darken the photo...can you read whatever the sign says?


That's all the bridges labeled with "B" or one without a label. There are a few more in my folder...

Being single or being in a relationship are both valid options for living life and one is not better than the other.

Auguste Rodin, sculptor said, “I invent nothing, I rediscover,” and “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.”


18 comments:

  1. Covered bridges make sense as often enough in cold weather bridges are the first road surface to ice up

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    1. Back before steel bridges, these were built of wood, and they probably didn't even treat the wood to avoid rot. A roof helped.

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  2. I love all the covered bridges and Mary Oliver's poem! Take care, Happy Tuesday! Enjoy your day!

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    1. Thanks Eileen...glad you liked these bridges, as I obviously do too!

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  3. ...Barbara, you have a gorgeous collection, perhaps it's time to go on a bridge hunting trip!

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    1. As you live in New York state, it's more likely that you could do a bridge hunting trip in your area! Go for it! You are the back roads traveler after all!

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  4. For awhile, I was coming across a fb post that posted covered bridge regularly. It doesn't seem to show up in my feed lately. FB is like that.

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    1. there was a blog as well. I wonder if she gave up blogging and went to fb...even you mark things as favourites you have to chase them up. not like here

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    2. I was mentioning to friends earlier today how what you click on FB is what you'll receive more of...the way the algorithms used to work at least. Now it's kind of hit and miss with all the ads.

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  5. Replies
    1. I'm so glad to see the efforts to make a simple crossing over water (usually) be a nice piece of construction.

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  6. We have a famous covered bridge here: The Cornish-Windsor Bridge. Maybe you mentioned it in your other post. I'll go look.

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    1. I haven't gotten to the bridges whose names start with "C" yet. I hope I have a photo of that one, and will certainly try to include it in the next bridges post - part 3 in a week or so!

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  7. I honestly was unsure of the purpose of a covered bridge but then looked it up and of course! To protect the wooden structure from rain and snow, thus extending the bridge's life considerably. Here in the deep south, the humidity makes the bridge covers less useful as the water is always in the air, cover or no. You just don't see them around here at all.

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    1. Good point, plus the waters don't have big hills to run between in FL. They just ooze along, if I remember correctly!

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  8. Herd to choose a favorite amongst all these beauties.

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  9. I saw a couple of similar bridges when I was on holiday in New England. I loved them. I've never seen one over here in the UK.

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There is today, more than ever, the need for a compassionate regenerative world civilization.