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Catawba
County, North Carolina
(WGN
33-18-01) (WGCB NC-18-01) (1895; cover added 1900;
roof renovated 1921; restored 1994) A single-span Haupt truss
80' 3" over Lyle Creek. Located: In Claremont, North Carolina,
on Old Island Ford Road in Connor Park. Directions: From Claremont, North Carolina,
at the intersection of US 70 and North Oxford Street, go 1.9 miles east
on US 70 to Connor Park, on the left. While not visible from the
road or the parking area, and, unless handicapped, is accessible by a easy
walk up a trail approximately 0.5 mile from the parking area. A bridge
informational sign is off US 70, at the entrance to the park. In
1894, Catawba County Commissioners called upon local landowners to build
and maintain a bridge across Lyle Creek. The bridge was built, uncovered,
in 1895. The cover was added in 1900. The bridge got its name
from the nearby Bunker Hill Farm, operated by descendants of the Shuford
and Lowrance families since the early 1800s. It is is the only surviving
Haupt truss covered bridge in the southeastern states. Major restoration
work was done, in 1994 by Arnold M. Graton Associates of Ashland, New Hampshire.
The structure is supported by a fourteen panel Haupt truss, with double
plank oak lattice members, and is set on large rock abutments, which had
concrete added at the base of the rocks at a later date. The flooring
consists of transverse planking with three-plank-wide wheel treads.
Weathered vertical boarding with battens covers the sides and weathered
horizontal
boarding covers the gables. The bridges tin roof was originally covered
with wood shingles, which were replaced 1921. The bridge is in a
heavily wooded area with an open area at the west-southwest portal, where
several bridge informational signs and plaques are posted. Closed
to motor traffic, the single span bridge crosses wide, rock and sediment
bottomed Lyle Creek, which flows into the Catawba River, about three miles
downstream. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
on February 26, 1970. (Jun 2005) |
