Rochester Covered Bridge

The Rochester Covered Bridge crosses Calapooya Creek about three miles west of Sutherlin, near Oakland, its graceful side windows with curved tops described by the reference book "Historic Highway Bridges of Oregon" as unique among the state's covered structures, a design repeated by no other Oregon covered bridge. Records indicate a covered bridge has stood at this crossing since at least 1862, making the current 1933 span at least the third generation of bridge on the site. It was built by Floyd Frear, the same craftsman who built the Cavitt Creek Covered Bridge a decade later, and features four windows per side, flat-arched portal openings, and exposed false beams at its gable ends; a 1969 remodel added new portal boarding, approaches, and abutments. The bridge's survival owes something to local determination: in the late 1950s, after Douglas County work crews burned down another nearby covered bridge to dispose of it, a group of armed local residents stood an all-night vigil to guard the Rochester Bridge from the same fate, and county commissioners backed down the next day, promising it would not be burned. Despite its architectural distinction and colorful history, no individual National Register of Historic Places listing has been confirmed for the bridge. The Rochester Covered Bridge remains open to vehicle traffic today, with a recommended 15 mph speed limit for the narrow, historic span.