|
|
Designated as a National Civil
Engineering Landmark in 2001, the
Bunker Hill Covered Bridge is the only remaining example in
wood of the Improved Lattice Truss patented by General Herman Haupt.
It joins th e
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Dorton Arena
in representing North Carolina on this prestigious list.
One of only two original remaining covered bridges in North
Carolina, the other being Mt. Pisgah in Randolph County, the bridge
was built in 1895 by Andy L. Ramsour. Catawba County Commissioners
in 1894 had called on nearby owners of Bunker Hill Farm to build and
maintain a bridge that would cross Lyle’s Creek on the old Island
Ford Road, a former Native American trail. The landowners hired
Ramsour, keeper of the Horseford covered bridge that spanned the
Catawba River north of Hickory. He likely found Haupt’s design in a
popular book on bridge building.
Originally constructed as an open span, the Bunker Hill Covered
Bridge, whose roof is ninety-one feet long, was covered in 1900. In
1921 its wooden shingles were replaced with a tin roof.
Website:
Bunker Hill Covered Bridge
Location:
Claremont
NC
Distance: 1 hour and 30 minutes from Asheville
Address: Highway 70, Claremont NC 28610
Telephone: 828-322-4731
Hours: Open 24/7 365 days a year
Fees: None
Allow: 1/2 hour
Nearby:
Catawba County Museum of History,
Catawba Science Center,
Hickory Museum of Art,
Hiddenite Center,
Historic Murray's Mill
Directions: From Asheville take I-40 East towards
Statesville. Take Exit 135 toward Claremont. Turn right at North
Oxford Street and then then left at West Main Street/US Highway 70.
Follow Highway 70 two miles east of town.
|
|
