Covered bridges used to be indispensable for going places. Thousands and thousands of them were built from wood across the country. Today, most covered bridges are gone. 23 remain in Washington County.

Each September, the EQT Washington & Greene Counties’ Covered Bridge Festival marks the start of fall with historical reenactments, craft demonstrations, foods, arts and crafts and entertainment at ten locations in Washington and Greene Counties. In 2023, it is scheduled for September 16 and 17. Admission and parking are free.

What about the covered bridges that aren’t part of the upcoming event? Every one of them has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The list of other covered bridges starts east of Washington and follows the map clockwise according to the creeks that they cross.

Pigeon Creek

Pigeon Creek originates in Bentleyville and empties into the Monongahela River at Monongahela.

• Wright Bridge is a short bridge over the North Fork of Pigeon Creek. The bridge is a kingpost truss, with red vertical siding and rectangular windows. It is 26 feet long. It was built in 1875, probably using wood from a previous bridge, and was rebuilt in 1999. The roof is tin. The bridge is situation on a dead end road. Location: Shortcut Road, Somerset Township.
• Leatherman Bridge is a queenpost truss bridge over the South Branch of Pigeon Creek. The wood is sawed, indicating it was built after 1860. It was rehabbed in 1998. Vertical siding is painted red with windows. It is open to traffic. Location: Leatherman Bridge Road, North Bethlehem Township.

Ten Mile Creek

Ten Mile Creek, south of Washington, flows into the Mon.

• Bailey Bridge is the last Burr truss covered bridge standing in the county. Built 1889, the bridge burned in 1994 and was rebuilt in 1999. The Burr arches and central cross timbers were salvaged. The bridge has red siding with windows. It is 66 feet long and 15 feet wide. Bailey Bridge was part of the Covered Bridge Festival until 2003. It is open to traffic on a gravel road. Location: Bailey Road, Amwell Township.

Short Creek

• Day Bridge is a 36½-foot-long queenpost truss bridge that was built in 1875 and restored in 2002-2003, when steel support beams were added. Vertical siding is painted red and has windows. The roof is sheet metal. It is open to the public. Location: Covered Bridge Road, Prosperity, Morris Township.

Wheeling Creek Watershed

Templeton Fork, Middle Wheeling Creek and Robinson Fork are creeks in western Washington County that eventually feed Wheeling Creek, which empties into the Ohio River in downtown Wheeling, WV.

• At 66½ feet, Longdon Bridge is the longest covered bridge in the county. It crosses Templeton Fork of Wheeling Creek. It’s a queenpost bridge. Four wood trestles support the deck. The year it was built is unknown. The bridge was restored in 2001 and is reinforced by a center pier. Vertical siding is painted red. It has windows. The roof is tin. Open to traffic. Location: Miller Creek Road in West Finley Township.
• Plant’s Bridge is a kingpost truss bridge over Templeton Fork of Wheeling Creek. It’s 24½ feet long and 14 feet wide. Vertical siding is painted red and has two windows on each side. It has a tin roof. Conflicting sources report that it was built in 1876 or after 1880. It was restored in 1976. Designated an historic bridge by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. Location: Sky View Road, East Finley Township.
• The oldest existing bridge in the county – Erskine Bridge – is also the most western covered bridge in the state. It sits near the border with West Virginia. Erskine is a queenpost truss structure that crosses Middle Wheeling Creek. It’s 39½ feet long. It was built in 1845 and rehabbed in 2006. It has red vertical siding with two windows on each side and a tin covered gable roof. Designated an historic bridge by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. Open to traffic. Location: Erskine Road, West Finley Township.
• Much of the original pine siding of the Mays Blaney Bridge or Mays Bridge remains 140 years after it was built in 1882. This queenpost truss bridge passes over Middle Wheeling Creek. Two timber supports anchored in the creek bed reinforce it. It has a tin roof. Designated an historic bridge by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. Open to traffic. Location: Waynesburg Road, Claysville, Donegal Township.
• Crawford Bridge is a queenpost truss bridge over the Robinson Fork of Wheeling Creek. It’s 39 feet long. It features high vertical sidewalls with windows at the ends and a gabled roof made of sheet metal. Unknown when it was built. Restored in 1996. Designated an historic bridge by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. Open to traffic. Location: Crawford Road, West Finley Township.
• The Washington County Tourism Promotion Agency reports the year the Danley Bridge was built is unknown but likely after 1860, while other sources say it was built in 1887. It was restored in 2000. The bridge passes over the Robinson Fork of Wheeling Creek on a queenpost truss. It has a total length of 49 feet. It has red vertical siding with windows. Location: Dogwood Hill Road, West Finley Township.

Buffalo Creek

Buffalo Creek drains an area west of Washington, between the Wheeling Creek and Cross Creek watersheds. It flows into West Virginia, where it empties into the Ohio River.

• Sawhill Bridge, or the Buffalo Creek Bridge, is a 57-foot-long queenpost truss bridge with vertical siding and a tin-covered gabled roof. Built in 1915 and rehabbed in 2005 after the remnants of a hurricane heavily damaged it. Designated an historic bridge by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. Open to traffic. Location: Pole Cat Hollow Road, Taylorstown, Blaine Township.

I drove with my husband many times to this bridge. I have an original photo, taken about 1974-75, my husband took of me sitting by the bridge and a few years later an artist friend of ours did a 24 x 36 painting from the photo … I will always treasure my painting.

Posted to Bridgehunter by Jan

King’s Creek

King’s Creek is located in northern Washington County. It is east of Hillman State Park.

• Jackson’s Mill Bridge is a 46-foot-long queenpost truss bridge over King’s Creek that is also known as William Jackson’s Mill Bridge. The truss is reinforced by two wooden supports in the stream bed. The bridge has red vertical sidings with windows. The Tourism Promotion Agency reports the year it was built as unknown but other sources list if as built in 1889. Rehabbed in 2003. Open to traffic. Location: Kings Creek Road in Hanover Township.
• Ralston Freeman Bridge is a privately owned bridge that passes over Aunt Clara’s Fork of King’s Creek with a kingpost truss. It’s 34 feet long. The bridge was built in 1915 and has red vertical siding with windows. Designated an historic bridge by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation.

It is posted ‘No Trespassing’ because trouble the owner has had with ‘partying’ visitors.

Covered Spans Of Yesteryear

Brush Run Creek

• Steel I-beams support Lyle Bridge, a queenpost truss bridge over Brush Run Creek. The bridge has red vertical siding with three windows on each side and a gabled roof. It is 38 feet long. Built in 1887, it was rehabbed in 1999. Designated an historic bridge by the Washington County History & Landmarks Foundation. Open to traffic. Location: Kramer Road, at the eastern border of Hillman State Park, Hanover Township.

Closing

Covered bridges are narrow. They stopped being built after Ford Model Ts started rolling off an assembly line every fifteen minutes, making cars affordable to middle class Americans. Covered bridges became history.

These local covered bridges are out of the way. They don’t get a lot of traffic. They’re worth going to see to appreciate them for what they are and what they were.

14 covered bridges that aren't part of the Covered Bridge Festival