About
Clay's Covered Bridge, also called the Wahneta Covered Bridge, crosses Little Buffalo Creek in Little Buffalo State Park, Centre Township, Perry County, southwest of Newport. It is a single-span Burr arch truss bridge built in 1890 and 81 feet long. It is open to pedestrians only.
History
George Harting built the bridge in 1890 on John B. Clay's farm, where it stood beside the Wahneta water tank of the Newport and Sherman's Valley Railroad, according to coveredbridges.net. It was refurbished in 1959. In 1971 it was moved to its present site because of the construction of Holman Lake. Coveredbridges.net places the original site about a mile west of the present one, while the SAH Archipedia entry says it came from a few miles to the south. The bridge collapsed in 1993 after winter storm damage and was rebuilt.
Design
A Burr arch truss pairs a long timber arch with a multiple kingpost truss on each side of the bridge. SAH Archipedia notes that Clay's rests on a pair of single wooden arches and is ventilated by open space beneath the eaves.
Visiting
The bridge is in Little Buffalo State Park, a short distance from Shoaff's Mill, on the west side of State Route 1011. It is closed to motor vehicles and can be crossed on foot.
Sources: Clay's Covered Bridge (coveredbridges.net), Clay's Covered Bridge (SAH Archipedia), Clay or Wahneta Bridge (Dale J. Travis)
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