The Weddle Bridge is a long wooden
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 ...
in
Sweet Home, Oregon
Sweet Home is a city in Linn County, Oregon, United States, with population 8,925 at the 2010 census. Built near the site of a prehistoric petrified forest, Sweet Home experienced substantial growth during the construction of the Green Peter an ...
, United States.
The bridge originally spanned
Thomas Creek near
Scio but was replaced by a concrete bridge in 1980 and was scheduled to be destroyed in 1987. To save the bridge, local activists staged protests and persuaded former Oregon Senator
Mae Yih
Mae Yih (born Chih Feng Dunn May 24, 1928) is a former member of both houses of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oregon. She is the first Chinese American to serve in a state senate in the United States.
Early life
Yih was born Chih Feng ...
to help save the bridge. The
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...
soon approved the Oregon Covered Bridge Program, which helped pay for covered bridge rehabilitation projects statewide. The Weddle Bridge was the first to receive grants from the program.
In 1989, using grant funds as well as funds from local residents, a Sweet Home group called the Cascade Forest Resource Center rebuilt the Weddle Bridge across
Ames Creek in Sankey Park.
Also assisting in the project were the Covered Bridge Society of Oregon, which raised additional funds, and the Jordan Bridge Company, which had built the Jordan Bridge in
Stayton
Stayton is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States, located southeast of the state capital, Salem, on Oregon Route 22. It is south of Sublimity and east of Aumsville. Located on the North Santiam River, Stayton is a regional agricultu ...
.
The bridge was temporarily closed in 2005 after an engineering inspection determined that repairs were necessary. Proceeds from the
Oregon Jamboree
The Oregon Jamboree is a three-day country music and camping festival held in Sweet Home, Oregon, United States. The event was founded in 1992 as an economic development project for the Sweet Home community. In addition to funding economic developm ...
country music festival and donations of cash or building materials from several businesses and individuals made the repairs possible. The bridge has been used for public events such as fundraisers for breast-cancer detection and related services or for private events such as weddings.
The original bridge over Thomas Creek was named for a farmer who lived nearby, but it was also known as the ''Devaney Bridge'' for another early resident. Similar in design to other covered bridges along Thomas Creek, the Weddle Bridge featured a
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 ...
, segmented portal arches, large side openings, and white
board-and-batten
A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields.
In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...
siding.
See also
*
*
List of covered bridges in Oregon
This list of Oregon covered bridges contains 50 historic covered bridges remaining in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Most covered bridges in Oregon were built between 1905 and 1925. At its peak, there were an estimated 450 covered bridges, which by 1 ...
References
External links
*{{Commons category-inline
Covered bridges in Oregon
Bridges in Linn County, Oregon
Wooden bridges in Oregon
Tourist attractions in Linn County, Oregon
Former National Register of Historic Places in Oregon
Road bridges in Oregon
Pedestrian bridges in Oregon
Former road bridges in the United States
Sweet Home, Oregon
1937 establishments in Oregon
Bridges completed in 1937