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Virginia: Valley, Piedmont, Southside & Southwest » Shenandoah Valley » Shenandoah County » Mount Jackson and Vicinity » Meems Bottom Covered Bridge

Meems Bottom Covered Bridge

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1893–1894; 1976–1978 restored. Wissler Rd., 1.5 miles south of Mount Jackson
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • (Virginia Department of Historic Resources)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)

Spanning the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, this 204-foot-long structure is the longest of Virginia's seven surviving covered bridges. It is approached from the east by a tree-lined road. The wooden bridge is carried on two large wooden arches that spring from massive limestone abutments on either side of the river. Both arches are composed of three rough-sawn members bolted together. Although the bridge was damaged by fire in 1976, its structural timbers survived and, following restoration, the bridge was reopened to traffic in 1978. Because of its excellent structural condition, it is the only covered bridge in Virginia to allow limited vehicular use. The bridge is the third to span the river at this site—the first was burned during the Civil War and the second was destroyed by a flood in 1870.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Anne Carter Lee
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Data

What's Nearby

Old Pure Oil Service Station
Dellinger Funeral Home (S. P. Lonas House)
Union Church
Commercial Building (Mount Jackson Theatre)
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

Citation

Anne Carter Lee, "Meems Bottom Covered Bridge", [New Market, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-02-SH31.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Virginia vol 2

Buildings of Virginia: Valley, Piedmont, Southside, and Southwest, Anne Carter Lee and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, 75-76.

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