Sandy Creek Covered Bridge
Jefferson County, Missouri
| This wooden information center has four intersecting panels that are covered with excellent displays. Diagrams and text explain the four common truss types. Two methods of erecting wooden bridges are illustrated. A map shows the locations of Missouri's remaining covered bridges. The history of Sandy Creek Covered Bridge in particular, and of Missouri's covered bridges in general, are given. All the quotations attributed to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources were copied from here. |  |
Covered Bridges in Missouri
In Missouri the covered bridge was first used in the 1850's when roads, railroads and other land travel became the popular means of transportation. The first covered bridge in the state was built in 1851 in Boone County over Perche Creek on the Boone's Lick Trail. Eventually 50 covered bridges were built in Missouri. Most of these were constructed in northern Missouri in the years just after the Civil War.
The ravages of time and progress took their toll on Missouri's covered bridges. Fire, flood, abandonment or re-routing of once heavily used roadways, and simple neglect left only eight covered bridges in the state in 1958; by 1967 only four were still standing.
-Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Sandy Creek Covered Bridge, viewed from upstream
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As you walk away from the information display and towards the bridge, you see this portal. |
Sandy Creek Covered Bridge
Sandy Creek Covered Bridge is one of three historic Howe Truss bridges in Missouri. The Bridge is 74 feet 6 inches long, 18 feet 10 inches wide with an entrance height of 13 feet. The original bridge was built in 1872 by John Hathaway Morse and was named for the creek it spans.
In May 1886 high water destroyed the bridge and the county court ordered it rebuilt in August of the same year. Henry Steffin, who was awarded the contract to rebuild the bridge, used half of the original timbers to complete the reconstruction.
-Missouri Department of Natural Resources
Sandy Creek Covered Bridge, viewed from downstream
The bridge has been threatened frequently by natural and man-made disasters. Because of this the bridge underwent major repairs in 1940-41 and restoration in 1952. In 1968, Jefferson County donated the bridge to the state of Missouri. On July 8, 1970 the bridge was officially listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and later designated a state historic site. The bridge was restored to its original appearance thorough a major restoration project that was completed in the summer of 1984.
As part of the state park system, Sandy Creek Covered Bridge is administered by the Department of Natural Resources.
-Missouri Department of Natural Resources
| After walking through the bridge, you have this view of its entrance. |  |
mail to: Freeman@Brown.org