Pisgah Covered Bridge

Infobox_nrhp | name =Pisgah Covered Bridge

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added = January 20, 1972
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Pisgah Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the west fork of the Little River in Randolph County, North Carolina. It is the only accessible covered bridge in North Carolina, and one of only two (originally built on public roads) in existence in the state (the other being Bunker Hill covered bridge in Catawba County, North Carolina). (NOTE: The Dale J. Travis site lists 11 covered bridges in North Carolina. http://www.dalejtravis.com/bridge/bridgenc.htm)

History

The bridge was built by 1911 by J. J. Welch at a cost of $40. [The N.C. Zoo Society web page says 1911; The fall 2003 edition of the "Newsletter of the National Association for the Preservation of Covered Bridges" says 1910; still other websites have a date of 1903 without a reference.] It is a one-lane bridge, 51 feet in length. The bridge eventually became obsolete as the number of cars increased and it could not handle the increased traffic. It was eventually replaced by a bypass in the 1950s, but it remains a tourist attraction. The bridge is currently to the south of Pisgah Covered Bridge Road, just west of the community of Pisgah. The road now crosses a 2-lane concrete bridge nearby, built in the 1950s.

Preservation

Since 1998, the North Carolina Zoo Society has collaborated with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Piedmont Land Conservancy, and the LandTrust for Central North Carolina to maintain and refurbish the bridge. The bridge was washed away by a flood on August 9 2003, but was rebuilt the next year. The restoration was able to salvage about 90 percent of the materials from the original structure. The bridge is assumed originally to have had a shingle roof; however, it was replaced with tin in the 1930s. In restoration, the roof was returned to shingle.

There is now a gate on the road leading to the bridge, which was a response to repeated vandalism. The remote location of the bridge and easy parking at night made vandalism easy and anonymous, but the new gate has significantly reduced the problem.

ightseeing

This bridge is a perfect place for a picnic or a walk through the woods. There is a quarter mile trail through the woods on site. The trail crosses footbridges, and passes the Pisgah baptismal pool, downstream from the bridge.

Notes

References

* "The Pisgah Covered Bridge in Randolph County, North Carolina Lost in Flood". "Newsletter of the National Association for the Preservation of Covered Bridges". Fall 2003.

External links

* [http://www.PisgahCoveredBridge.com/ Official Pisgah Covered Bridge Visitor Information]
* [http://www.nczoo.org/conservationresearch/pisgahbridge_factsheet.cfm Pisgah Bridge Fact Sheet]
* [http://www.dalejtravis.com/cblist/cbnc.htm North Carolina Covered Bridges]