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Catawba's covered bridge spans the past
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Published: July 5, 2009
Head west from Statesville on US 70, cross the county line (the Catawba River) into Catawba County, and 3.2 miles from the river, on the right, you'll see a sign for Connor Park and the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge.
You owe it to yourself and your children to see this artifact, this bit of Americana from our recent past while it's still here.
There used to be scores, perhaps hundreds, of covered bridges in North Carolina, including at least two in northern Iredell County: the Patterson Covered Bridge that stood close to where U.S. 21 crosses Hunting Creek near Houstonville, and the Campbell Mill Covered Bridge over Hunting Creek on the present-day Union Grove Road near Zion Baptist Church.
The Campbell Mill Bridge is believed to have been the last covered bridge in Iredell and to have stood into the early 1930s.
Now there are only two such structures in the whole Old North State, this one near Claremont and the Pisgah Covered Bridge three counties east of Iredell in Randolph County.
The Bunker Hill Bridge spans Lyles Creek, a tributary of the nearby Catawba River, and was erected in 1894 by Andrew L. Ramsour. Originally an open bridge, the roof was added in 1900, which has no doubt helped preserve it. In 1921 its wooden shingles were replaced with tin roofing.
The bridge itself is 85 feet long and is a single span, meaning there are no supports under the bridge. Its roof, which protrudes some distance at either end, is 91 feet long.
The structure was donated to the Catawba County Historical Association by the Bolick family in 1985. The bridge is now owned by the Catawba County Historical Association and was restored in 1994. It was designated as a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 2001. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Regrettably, much of its interior is now decorated with spray-painted graffiti.
The wooden bridge is no longer open to auto traffic, and would be too narrow for most autos anyway. It is, however, just the right size for a horse and rider, a buckboard or one of Mr. Ford's Model-Ts.
Several details make the Bunker Hill Bridge unique.
First, it is located on the old Island Ford Road, believed to once have been a Native American trail. Later, this road was used during the American Revolution when more than 500 British soldiers, now prisoners of war, were herded across Lyles Creek at the Bunker Hill Ford following the Battle of Cowpens in 1781. From here, the British Redcoats went on to cross the Catawba River and were eventually confined in Virginia.
Finally, the bridge itself is the only known surviving example, in wood, of what is called the Improved Lattice Truss, patented by General Herman Haupt, who was chief of military railroads for the Union Army during the Civil War.
Haupt's ideas on bridge design were published in his book, "General Theory of Bridge Construction" (1851). Mr. Ramsour probably had a copy of Haupt's book.
Haupt's ingenious interior bracing plan allows this bridge to stand without the aid of piers to support its 85-foot span, an impressive engineering feat.
The Bunker Hill Covered Bridge is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. There are picnic tables in Connor Park, the area adjoining the bridge, but there are no restroom facilities.
For inquiries, call (828) 465-0383.
Not as old or as authentic as the Bunker Hill Bridge, the Pisgah Covered Bridge spans the west fork of the Little River and was built in 1910 or 1911 at a cost of $40 by J. J. Welch.
The one-lane bridge was used by traffic into the 1950s. It is located just west of the community of Pisgah in the Union township, south of Asheboro, and is located within the bounds of the Uwharrie National Forest.
The Pisgah Covered Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
On Aug. 9, 2003, the 51-foot long, three-span bridge was washed 100 feet away from its stone piers by a flash flood that raised the level of the Little River 14 feet above normal.
The bridge was rebuilt the next year and about 90 percent of the materials used in the reconstruction came from the original bridge. During the rebuild, it was returned to being covered with wooden shingles, as had been the case prior to the 1930s.
According to one source, the state's Department of Transportation helped in the reconstruction with a $20,000 donation.
Depending on the route you take, the Pisgah Bridge is a bit more than 80 miles east of Statesville, and it will take you about an hour and a half to get there by car.
It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the bridge is free. There are also picnic facilities and public parking and a quarter-mile nature trail which passes by a baptismal pool. There are no restroom facilities.
For information, call (800) 626-2672.
For more information on North Carolina covered bridges, by county, see the list compiled by Dale Travis at www.dalejtravis.com/cblist/cbnc.htm.
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