Skip to main content

Meems Bottom Covered Bridge in Mount Jackson, Virginia

Image
By

 


Just a stone's throw away from Shenandoah Caverns and the Route 11 Potato Chip Company in the scenic Shenandoah Valley is home to one of Virginia's historic covered bridges. The 204 foot long Meems Bottom Covered Bridge is a Burr arch truss design covered bridge that crosses over the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, just outside of the town of Mount Jackson, Virginia. This also happens to be Virginia's longest covered bridge and the only covered bridge in Virginia that is open to vehicular traffic.

The current version of the historic Meems Bottom Covered Bridge is the fourth bridge across the North Fork of the Shenandoah River at the location on Wissler Road, not far from, but hidden away from travelers passing by on nearby I-81 and US 11. The first bridge was constructed between 1867 and 1868, but was subsequently destroyed by a flood in March 1870. As a result, the bridge was replaced by 1871. The second bridge lasted longer, however, this bridge was destroyed by floodwaters in November 1877. The third bridge was constructed in 1878 and was replaced by the current structure in 1893, using materials that were cut and quarried nearby for the massive arch supports and stone abutments, which extended 10 feet below the riverbed. It was deeded to the Virginia Highway Department in the 1930's in return for assuming its maintenance. Also, there was an earlier bridge at a nearby location was destroyed by General Stonewall Jackson’s troops in 1862 during the Civil War.

The name of the Meems Bottom Bridge comes from the locally prominent Meem family, a large landowner in this part of the Shenandoah Valley. The timbers that were used to build the bridge of 1893 came from Confederate Brigadier General Gilbert Simrall Meem's former farm of Strathmore, which was located nearby to the bridge. The farm was bought by Franklin Hiser Wissler in 1891. Wissler designed the bridge and he contracted John Woods to assist in construction of the 1893 bridge, as a new bridge would provide better access to the orcharrds on his farmland. The bridge has stood the test of time to floodwaters that destroyed the earlier bridges, and during the 1930s, it was deeded to the Virginia Highway Department in return for assuming its maintenance.

The Meems Bottom Covered Bridge over the North Fork of the Shenandoah River carried traffic for more than 80 years before being burned by vandals on Halloween in 1976. After salvaging the original timbers, the bridge was reconstructed and eventually undergirded with modern steel beams and concrete piers. The bridge was reopened to traffic in 1979 and is still in use today. There is a small parking area and picnic area located next to the bridge for passive enjoyment. I was able to visit the Meems Bottom Covered Bridge on a couple of occasions during different times of the year and found it to be a worthwhile stopover when traversing around the Shenandoah Valley.


The portal of the Meems Bottom Covered Bridge.

The steel beams and concrete piers used to support the bridge. This was added to bridge during its restoration in 1979.

The original stone abutments are still used for the covered bridge.

Historical plaque found inside the bridge.

A high clearance vehicle deterrent on the tree lined Wissler Road east of the bridge.

North Fork of the Shenandoah River.

Sunrise and the Blue Ridge Mountains as seen from the Meems Bottom Covered Bridge.


One last view of the covered bridge before I depart.



How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Scenic USA - Meems Bottom Covered Bridge
Bridgehunter.com - Meems Bottom Covered Bridge 46-82-01
Virginia Is For Lovers - Historic Meems Bottom Covered Bridge
Virginia Department of Transportation - Meem's Bottom Bridge
Virginia Association of Counties - Visit Shenandoah County and the Meems Bottom Covered Bridge
Labels:
Location: Meems Bottom Covered Bridge, Wissler Rd, Mt Jackson, VA 22842, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chowchilla Mountain Road to Yosemite National Park

By
Chowchilla Mountain Road of Mariposa County is one of the oldest roadways servicing Yosemite National Park.  As presently configured this fourteen-mile highway begins at California State Route 49 near Elliot Corner and terminates at the Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park.  Chowchilla Mountain Road was constructed as a franchise toll road over Battalion Pass circa 1869-1870.  The highway was built at behest of Galen Clark to connect the town of Mariposa to his property near the South Fork Merced River at what is now Wawona.   In late 1874 the highway along with Clark’s Station would be purchased by the Washburn Brothers.  The Washburn Brothers would continue to toll Chowchilla Mountain Road as part of their Yosemite Stage Route lines.  The highway would ultimately become a Mariposa County public highway in 1917.  Mariposa would later be more directly linked with Yosemite Valley in 1926 following the completion of the Yosemite All-Year Highwa...
1 comment
Read more

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

By
In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...
Post a Comment
Read more

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

By
At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...
1 comment
Read more