Lemuel Chenoweth

Lemuel Chenoweth (1811-1887) was a carpenter, legislator and self-educated architect. He is best-known as one of nineteenth century America's master covered bridge builders.

Chenoweth and his brother Eli constructed 20 bridges, most of them covered, on four western Virginia turnpikes, notably on the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike system of western Virginia (now West Virginia).

Biography

Chenoweth was born, lived and died in Randolph County, West Virginia. He was an associate of Claudius Crozet, a noted civil engineer who oversaw the design and construction of Virginia's transportation infrastructure of turnpikes, canals, and roads with funding by the Virginia Board of Public Works and the General Assembly of Virginia during the 19th century prior to the American Civil War.

One of Chenoweth's best known surviving bridges is the Philippi Covered Bridge spanning the Tygart Valley River and carrying U.S. Route 250 in Philippi. The bridge is an outstanding example of a modified Burr truss bridge with two spans totaling 308 linear feet. It is also the only covered bridge in the United States currently incorporated into the national primary highway system.

Another of Chenoweth's surviving covered bridges is located at Barrackville in Marion County.

Several homes and the Huttonsville Presbyterian Church in Huttonsville are also among Chenoweth's extant creations.

Chenoweth was buried in the Beverly Cemetery.

Legacy

The Lemuel Chenoweth House Museum operates in the post and beam house that Chenoweth built for himself in Beverly in 1856.

List of Chenoweth bridges

*Beverly Covered Bridge, 1847, Chenoweth's first bridge (destroyed).
*Middle Fork Covered Bridge, 18?? (destroyed).
*Buckhannon Covered Bridge, 18?? (destroyed).
*Weston Covered Bridge, 18??, across Stone Coal Creek, (destroyed).
*Philippi Covered Bridge, 1852 (surviving).
*Barrackville Covered Bridge, 1858 (surviving).

ee also

*List of West Virginia covered bridges

External links

* [http://www.historicbeverly.org/lemchen_museum.htm Historic Beverly information on museum]
* [http://www.chenowethsite.com/chlemuel.htm Lemuel Chenoweth House and Museum website]