Jack's Creek Covered Bridge, Woolwine Virginia
Jack's Creek Covered Bridge was constructed in 1914 and is one of eleven covered bridges remaining in Virginia. The bridge was built by Charlie Vaughan of Buffalo Ridge, and was designed by Walter Weaver, who also designed the nearby Bob White Covered Bridge. The roof was laid by Peter C.. Brammer and his son R. L. Brammer. It is reported that Brammer was employed for the job because he was the only person in the vicinity owning the tools necessary to crimp the sheet metal covering. The roof was replaced in 1969 with funds raised through a financial campaign spearheaded by the Woolwine Ruritan Club. At that time the bridge also was painted, apparently for the first time. The bridge is no longer in use and traffic is routed across a modern bridge located a few yards to the southwest.
The 48-foot-long bridge is constructed mainly of heavy oak timbers. On the interior, it has diagonal sheathing while the exterior is of vertical boards with other vertical boards covering the joints, a board-and-board version of board-and-batten. The roof projects on both entrance facades to form portals which, like the entrance timbers, are supported by corner braces. The portal gables have board-and-board sheathing.
The bridge has a common rafter roof with wind braces beside every other rafter. The rafter timbers project beyond the side walls of the bridge and thus form simple rafter brackets. The bridge has open eaves; that is, the space between the rafters, above the side walls, and beneath the roof, is open to provide ventilation.
The flooring of the bridge consists of random-width transverse boards. A small patch of longitudinal boards was later made near the northwest entrance. On the underside, longitudinal timbers laid on end form the sides and two runs down the center of the bridge. Transverse boards laid on end are spaced by crossed metal strain bars. Metal strain bars are used also as part of the bridge framing walls and can be glimpsed through cracks in the bridge's interior diagonal sheathing.
The bridge is set on concrete abutments with a masonry support at the northwest entrance. The northwest side also has bracing.
