Ritner Creek Bridge

The Ritner Creek Bridge stands at the Minnie Ritner Ruiter Wayside near the small community of Pedee, between Pedee and Kings Valley on the former Oregon Route 223, and holds the distinction of having been the last covered bridge still in service on an official Oregon state highway before its removal from active duty. Built in 1927 and named for pioneer settler Sebastian Ritner, who arrived in the area in 1845, the 73-foot Howe truss bridge had its originally rounded portal design squared off in the early 1960s to accommodate taller and larger loads. Declared structurally unsafe and slated for demolition in 1974, the bridge was saved when local residents organized a petition that forced a May 1974 ballot measure; voters chose preservation over demolition, and in 1976 the entire structure was lifted off its foundation and relocated just downstream to its current wayside site, at a relocation cost of roughly $26,000, nearly four times its original 1927 construction cost. When the bridge was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the State Historic Preservation Office noted that Oregon once had nearly 450 covered bridges at the time of the bridge's construction, but fewer than 60 remained statewide by the mid-1970s, underscoring how endangered the type had become. Closed to vehicle traffic since its 1976 relocation, the Ritner Creek Bridge is preserved today as a pedestrian attraction within its namesake park.