Skip to main content

Chitwood Covered Bridge

Image
By
Built in 1926, the Chitwood Covered Bridge is meant to link travelers from an historic alignment of US Highway 20 to the once bustling town of Chitwood. Visible from the old main road between Corvallis and Newport, this bridge is one of the few remaining landmarks of the former Corvallis and Eastern Railroad stop.

At 96 foot long, the Chitwood Covered Bridge is actually the third bridge at this site, with the original bridge having been built in 1893 and a second bridge being built in 1904. But with the wet weather that is often seen in western Oregon, it was determined that a covered bridge would best serve the crossing over the Lower Yaquina River. The covered bridge was restored in 1984 and again in 2014. The Chitwood Covered Bridge is of a Howe Truss design, and features the barn red color, flared sides and semi-elliptical portal arches that are typical of covered bridges found in Lincoln County, Oregon. It is still passable by motorized traffic as well, serving what remains of Chitwood.

Not much goes on in Chitwood anymore. The Chitwood Covered Bridge was once surrounded by several stores, a post office, and several homes. Logging in the area once boomed enough to support not only the stores, but also the Chitwood Dance Hall. Chitwood also became an important rail stop for the steam locomotives traveling from Yaquina to Corvallis, as this was the town where the train engines took on water and fuel, as well as passengers and freight. However, time passed the town by, and after a couple of World Wars, Chitwood became a shell of its former self, with just the covered bridge and a few houses remaining today.






How to Get There:

Sources and Links:
The Covered Bridge Society of Oregon - Chitwood Covered Bridge
Lincoln County, Oregon - Chitwood Bridge
Scenic USA - Oregon - Chitwood Covered Bridge
My South Lane - Chitwood, Oregon
GhostTowns.org - Chitwood

Labels:
Location: Yaquina River Chitwood Covered Bridge, 51 Chitwood Rd, Toledo, OR 97391, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more