Johnson Creek Covered Bridge

The Johnson Creek Covered Bridge is located four miles north of Blue Licks Battlefield State Park in Robertson County and is currently closed to vehicular traffic. The bridge is important as the only known example of Robert Smith's truss system in Kentucky and the only covered bridge extant known to have been built by Jacob N. Bower (1819-1906).[2]

Johnson Creek Covered Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Under renovation in 2007
Location	4.0 miles north of Blue Licks Battlefield State Park
Coordinates	38°28′52″N 83°58′37″W
Built	1874
Architectural style	Smith "Type 3" truss
NRHP reference No.	76000941[1]
Added to NRHP	September 27, 1976

The bridge was constructed in 1874 and is one of thirteen that remain of more than four hundred covered bridges in Kentucky. Around 1912, Jacob Bower's son, Louis, added an arch on each side to support increased traffic using the bridge. The bridge is 114 feet long and 16 feet wide, according to Louis Bower, grandson of Jacob Bower and a local covered bridge builder.[2]

Later generations have advanced numerous reasons for the construction of covered bridges, but the historical reason for their existence was the maintenance of structural integrity. The cover allowed timbered trusses and braces to season properly and kept water out of the joints, prolonging their lives by seven to eight times that of an uncovered bridge.[2]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "National Register Information System Application Form". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 1975-08-22.