Howard's Covered Bridge is a historic

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

outside of Smithonia in

Oglethorpe County, Georgia Oglethorpe County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,825. The county seat is Lexington. Oglethorpe County is included in the Athens-Clarke County, GA Metrop ...

, United States. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on July 1, 1975. The bridge is located 3 miles southeast of Smithonia on SR S2164. The bridge was built in 1905 in a

Town lattice A lattice bridge is a form of truss bridge that uses many small, closely spaced diagonal elements forming a lattice. The lattice Truss Bridge was patented in 1820 by architect Ithiel Town. Originally a design to allow a substantial bridge to be ma ...

design and is 168 feet (51 m) long. The span travels over Big Clouds Creek. The site is marked by a

historical marker A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

posted by the

Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, examined, and tau ...

. The bridge was named for the pioneer family that settled in the area in the late 1700s. It was built with convict labor and is fastened with wooden trunnels. The timber used was transported on the Smithonia and Dunlap Railroad, connecting

James Monroe Smith James Monroe Smith may refer to: * James Monroe Smith (Georgia planter) (1839–1915), planter and state legislator in Georgia * James Monroe Smith (academic administrator) James Monroe Smith (October 9, 1888 – June 6, 1949) was an American educa ...

's farm with the

Georgia Railroad Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

at Dunlap, Georgia.Howard's Covered Bridge Historical Marker
Georgia Info The site's historical marker is at the southern end of Chandler Silver Road at the intersection with Cloud's Creek Road, 1.3 miles west of the Cloud's Creek Baptist Church marker.Howard's Covered Bridge
Georgia Info (photograph and historical marker location information)

References

{{Authority control Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures in Oglethorpe County, Georgia Bridges completed in 1905 National Register of Historic Places in Oglethorpe County, Georgia Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Wooden bridges in Georgia (U.S. state) Lattice truss bridges in the United States 1905 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

See also

References