The Ada Covered Bridge is a span
Brown truss covered bridge erected in 1867 in
Ada,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, United States. Carrying Bronson Street across the
Thornapple River
The Thornapple River (Ottawa dialect, Ottawa: ''Sowanquesake'', "Forked River") (Geographic Names Information System, GNIS ID #) is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Ma ...
, it is located just south of where the Thornapple enters the
Grand River, in turn just south of
M-21. It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
Design
The bridge uses the Brown truss system, consisting of diagonal compression beams and almost vertical
tension members (slanting in at the top toward the center of the span), patented by
Josiah Brown Jr. of Buffalo, New York, in 1857. A timber bearing Brown's name was discovered during repair work carried out in 1913.
[Historical marker data, fro]
marker detail
page on michigan.org site, accessed October 09, 2006
The bridge is long, and originally rested on wooden pilings. As is typical for covered bridges, its gabled roof is covered with creosote shingles.
History
The
Michigan State Legislature authorised Ada Township to borrow up to
$3,000 for building or maintaining bridges in the area. Construction of this bridge, also known as the "Bradfield Bridge" was carried out in 1867 by William Holmes.
Prior to construction of the upstream dam, the Thornapple River was prone to flooding. According to a
historical marker posted at the bridge, "it is said that farmers used to drive wagons loaded with stones onto the bridge during high water to hold it to the foundation."
[Historical marker data, fro]
ada bridge
page on wmta.org site, accessed October 09, 2006
Repair work was carried out in 1913 to modify the trusses, and replace the timber abutments with reinforced concrete.
The bridge was part of an important artery into the village of Ada until 1930, when the main highway was rerouted and a concrete bridge built further down the Thornapple River. At that time the bridge was closed to automobile traffic, reverting to pedestrian use only.
In 1941 the Kent County Road Commission and the
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
made extensive restorations, re-roofing the bridge with new protective creosote shingles and replacing many of its decayed underlying supports with new beams. The Road Commission purchased a nearby barn to supply wood for replacement of badly deteriorated elements.
The bridge was listed with the Michigan State Register on May 9, 1969, and with the National Register on February 16, 1970. It was awarded a Michigan Historical Marker (site L0075) on August 28, 1974.
[marker data from page on michmarkers.com site, accessed October 09, 2006] It is one of four existing publicly owned covered bridges in Michigan.
[fro]
Ada page
on relocate-america.com site, accessed October 09, 2006
In 1979 the roof collapsed due to heavy snow, and the bridge was restored using funds raised by private donations. Shortly after the repairs were finished, the bridge was completely destroyed by fire. The citizens again rallied, this time with the help of the
Amway corporation, headquartered in Ada, and rebuilt it once again. The replica bridge, now resting on concrete abutments, is wide and long.
The bridge is now open only to pedestrian traffic and connects the Village of Ada on one side of the Thornapple River with a park on the other side. It is maintained by the Kent County Park system.
Images
File:Ada Michigan CoveredBridge Plaque DSCN9702.JPG, Historical Marker at the site.
File:Ada Michigan Covered Bridge downstream underside DSCN9708.JPG, Underside view, showing truss ends protruding from the sheathing.
File:Ada Michigan Covered Bridge InteriorDSCN9711.JPG, Inside, showing Brown truss stringers.
See also
*
List of Michigan covered bridges
*
List of Registered Historic Places in Kent County, Michigan
References
External links
*
Aerial view of the Ada Covered Bridge*
{{Authority control
Transportation buildings and structures in Kent County, Michigan
Bridges completed in 1867
Pedestrian bridges in Michigan
Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Burned buildings and structures in the United States
Fires in Michigan
Works Progress Administration in Michigan
Former road bridges in the United States
Tourist attractions in Kent County, Michigan
1867 establishments in Michigan
National Register of Historic Places in Kent County, Michigan
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan
Wooden bridges in Michigan