Hewitt Covered Bridge

About

Hewitt Covered Bridge crosses Town Creek at the village of Hewitt in Southampton Township, Bedford County. It is an 88-foot, single-span Burr truss bridge built in 1879. It is county-owned and open to traffic.

History

The bridge was built in 1879. No builder is recorded. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1980, as part of the Bedford County Covered Bridges multiple property submission. According to coveredbridges.net, a 1983 flood washed out a stone and mortar abutment. In December 1999 P. Joseph Lehman, Inc., working for Bedford County, removed the bridge from its abutments, numbering each piece, and about 80 percent of the original members were reused. The bridge reopened to traffic in October 2000. Coveredbridges.net also notes that it is the only one of Southampton Township's three former covered bridges still standing. Lengths in sources range from 80 feet (dalejtravis.com) to 88 feet (National Register).

Design

Wikipedia describes a low to medium Burr truss with a medium gable roof. In a Burr truss, a long timber arch on each side is combined with a multiple kingpost truss, and the arch ends bear on the abutments. Coveredbridges.net notes that the sides are almost completely covered with vertical boards and that the bridge rests on stone and mortar abutments.

Visiting

Take Covered Bridge Road east for 0.4 mile from its junction with Town Creek Road at Hewitt, according to dalejtravis.com. The bridge carries Covered Bridge Road and is open to vehicles.

Sources: Hewitt Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Hewitt 38-05-26 (dalejtravis.com), Hewitt Covered Bridge (coveredbridges.net)