Parks Covered Bridge, Trimble Tennessee

Date added: May 03, 2024

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Tennessee in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had dozens of covered bridges. During the early years of the 20^th century, these structures began to vanish until now there are only five known bridges of this type in the state. Four of these span rivers and creeks east of the Tennessee River. Only one, the Parks Covered Bridge, has been found in West Tennessee. It is believed to be the only known king post truss covered bridge in the state.

W.E. Parks built the bridge in 1922 to connect two of his fields. Although cars and trucks routinely crossed the bridge until 1928, its primary purpose was agricultural. Consequently, it is an unpretentious structure. The clapboarded shell has little aesthetic appeal, but it does protect the vulnerable wooden and steel truss. That the bridge is still used by farmers to move farm machinery from field to field attests to the structural condition of the bridge.

The bridge was repaired and moved in 1997 into the town of Trimble by a group of town volunteers. The move and repairs likely saved the bridge and ensured its preservation, but unfortunately destroyed its historical integrity.

Bridge Description

The following describes the condition and placement prior to the repairs and move.

The Parks Covered Bridge is located in south central Obion County, a little more than a mile northwest of the town of Trimble; it stands about 1300 feet west of U. S. 51 and spans the Obion River Drainage Canal. W. E. Parks, the father of the owner, constructed the bridge in 1912.

The basic structure of the bridge consists of a king post pony truss which has wooden compression members and a steel tension rod. Diagonal lateral braces, which are tied to an elongated floor beam, further stabilize the truss sections. The protective shell of the bridge is strictly utilitarian in style and construction and resembles a farm outbuilding. Studs nailed to the floor beams support the rafters of the low shed roof, which has been covered with corrugated metal roofing. Lateral planks form the bridge deck, and these are reinforced with paired, longitudinal track planks. Various diagonal braces strengthen the walls and roof. Clapboard siding covers eighty or, ninety percent of the walls; the area under the eaves has been left open to light the interior of the bridge. Concrete and wooden post and lintel piers support the single-span bridge. The bridge is approximately twelve feet wide and sixty feet long and rises about twenty feet above the low water level.

Originally designed to provide a drainage ditch crossing for traffic on a river bottom road, it was supplanted by U. S. 51, which was constructed in 1928. Although dilapidated, the sixty-six-year-old bridge appears structurally sound.

When Parks built the bridge it had a steep gable roof, but about two years later a tornado struck it and peeled off the roof. The present shed roof was installed a short time later; the painted date "1914" and an upturned horseshoe record the tornado and the repairs.