Covered Bridge in West Virginia

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Following submission of a petition by J. E. Spriggs, G. I. Dennison, and H. O. Wilson and others to the Lewis (bounty court on June 13, 1902, the court-appointed W. E. Wick and W.D. Anderson as a committee to locate a site for a bridge across the right fork of the West Fork River, about one mile south of Walkersville. The committee was to evaluate the nature of the ground for the placement of abutments, the required length of the bridge and all other details necessary for arriving at a cost of construction.

On July 1, 1902, the court decided to build three iron bridges, one of which was to be located south of Walkersville. W. S. Smith was authorized by the court to draft specifications for the stone abutments of the three bridges, and advertise for sealed bids for their construction. Smith was appointed on July 9, 1902, to have the stone abutments and the approaches constructed for the bridge above Walkersville. The stone for the abutments came from Morgan Galfords farm. During the next few months the court apparently decided to build a wooden bridge instead of the previously planned iron bridge. Because on December 10, 1902, John G. Sprigg was awarded a contract to build a wooden bridge on the abutments that had been completed at the West Fork River approximately one mile south of Walkersville. On March 13, 1903, the court ordered that drafts be issued payable to John G. Sprigg for $567.00 for building the wooden superstructure of the bridge.

The Walkersville Covered Bridge is the only covered bridge remaining in Lewis County and one of four covered bridges in West Virginia, which were constructed according to a queen-post truss design. It also is one of the few covered bridges in West Virginia that has not been significantly altered from its original condition.

The Walkersville Covered Bridge is 12 feet-1½ inches wide and 39 feet-4 inches long. It has board-and-batten siding and a standing seam metal roof. The trusses, which are of the queen-post type, have two-7½ x 13½ inch center posts which are separated by the 7½ x 9½ inch top chord and divide the truss into three panels. Making up the bottom chord are two-8 x 13½ inch timbers, between which fit the 7½ x 9½ inch diagonals. A pair of 5 x 11½ inch transverse floor beams, that are bolted to the bases of the center posts below the bottom chords, support the bottom chord and floor stringers at midspan. Tie rods, located at the four ends of the bottom chords are attached to the abutments with an iron loop and are bolted to end blocks resting on the top of the bottom chords.

Still functional, the bridge has had no modern reinforcement added to it.

Upstream side elevation (1979)

Deteriorated wood (1979)

Interior (1979)