The Union Covered Bridge State Historic Site is a Missouri State Historic Site in

Monroe County, Missouri Monroe County is a county in northeast Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,666. Its county seat is Paris. It is the birthplace of Mark Twain. History The county was organized January 6, 1831 and named for James Monroe, the fi ...

. The

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 ...

is a Burr-arch truss structure built in 1871 over the Elk Fork of the Salt River. It was almost lost to neglect in the 1960s, but was added to the state park system in 1967, the same year it was damaged by a flood. Repairs were made the next year, using timbers salvaged from another covered bridge that had been destroyed by the same flood. In 1970, it was closed to vehicular traffic and 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 v ...

. Further repairs were made in 1988, and it survived the

Great Flood of 1993 The Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from April to October 1993. The flood wa ...

, only to be damaged by another flood in 2008 and later re-repaired. It is about or long, high, and wide.

History

The

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

government gave permission for bridge construction over the Elk Fork of the Salt River on April 8, 1870, after two previous bridges at the site had failed. Union Covered Bridge, named after the nearby Union Church, was then constructed in 1871 using locally-sourced

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

wood, opening on September 17. It is about or long with a height of and width of and was originally on the road between

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and Fayette. Joseph Elliott was the builder. Construction originally cost $5,500 (). Locals raised $1,000 () to preserve the bridge in 1961, but in the late 1960s, the bridge was almost a victim of neglect. In 1967, the bridge was damaged by a flood, with parts of the bridge's siding being swept away. Earlier that year, the

Missouri General Assembly The Missouri General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Senate and a 163-member House of Representatives. Members of both houses of the General Assembly are ...

had passed a law to bring all remaining covered bridges into the state into the state parks system. It was later repaired using salvaged timbers from the Mexico Covered Bridge, which had been destroyed in the same flood. Further restoration occurred in 1968, at a cost of $25,000 (). It was closed to vehicular traffic in 1970 after it was damaged, likely by a truck bearing a heavy load that had detoured away from a

low-water crossing A low-water crossing (also known as an Irish bridge or Irish Crossing, causeway in Australia, low-level crossing or low-water bridge) provides a bridge when water flow is low. Under high-flow conditions, water runs over the roadway and preclud ...

. The bridge was listed on the

on June 15, 1970. Repairs were made in 1988, and it survived flooding during the

. A flood in 2008 damaged the bridge, with parts of the bridge's structure being knocked loose. In 2011, the state of Missouri received $145,000 from the federal government to repair 2008 flood damage at Union Covered Bridge and to do work at the

Sandy Creek Covered Bridge Sandy Creek Covered Bridge State Historic Site is a publicly owned property in Jefferson County, Missouri, administered by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, preserving the Sandy Creek Covered Bridge. The bridge is one of four remaini ...

. Restoration was completed in 2019. The site is sometimes used for weddings and baptisms. Site management is provided by

Mark Twain State Park Mark Twain State Park is a public recreation area encompassing on Mark Twain Lake in Monroe County, Missouri. The state park offers water recreation, hiking trails, and campgrounds. It is adjacent to the Mark Twain Birthplace State Historic S ...

. The state historic site covers and contains of roadway. In 2020, it was visited by 30,570 people and had a budget of $4,680.

Design

The Union Covered Bridge is the only Burr-arch truss covered bridge still extant in Missouri; the other three covered bridges remaining in Missouri are examples of the

Howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a bridg ...

. The Burr design uses multiple

king post A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above fro ...

s and an arch to support the bridge's

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

. The Union Covered Bridge specifically has two arches on either side of the bridge. The design is slightly bowed to the upstream, which helps stabilize it in flood conditions. The bridge has been described as barn-like, and local legend claims that the appearance helped farm animals be more willing to cross it. In 1995, the interior was reported to be covered in

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

. The components of the bridge are mainly held together with

treenail A treenail, also trenail, trennel, or trunnel, is a wooden peg, pin, or dowel used to fasten pieces of wood together, especially in timber frames, covered bridges, wooden shipbuilding and boat building. It is driven into a hole bored through two ...

s, with only a few iron fasteners for additional support. The roof is covered with

wood shingle Wood shingles are thin, tapered pieces of wood primarily used to cover roof shingle, roofs and walls of buildings to protect them from the weather. Historically roof shingle, shingles, also known as shakes, were split from straight grained, kno ...

s. The bridge is oriented east-west.

References

External links

Union Covered Bridge State Historic Site
Missouri Department of Natural Resources {{NRHP bridges Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Missouri State Historic Sites Buildings and structures in Monroe County, Missouri Protected areas established in 1967 Protected areas of Monroe County, Missouri Tourist attractions in Monroe County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Monroe County, Missouri Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Wooden bridges in Missouri Burr Truss bridges in the United States 1967 establishments in Missouri