Manning-Rye Covered Bridge

The Manning-Rye Covered Bridge, spanning the Palouse River near Colfax, Washington, was built around 1918. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[1] It has also been known as the Harpole Bridge.

Manning-Rye Covered Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Spans Palouse River, Colfax, Washington
Coordinates	46.928388°N 117.415340°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	c.1918
Built by	Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad
MPS	Historic Bridges/Tunnels in Washington State TR
NRHP reference No.	82004307[1]
Added to NRHP	July 16, 1982

It was a work of the Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad, an interurban electric railroad.

Its "timber housing protects a single span timber Howe truss which rests on timber pile abutments, encased with timber cribs." Although it is deemed a covered bridge, the top of the bridge was left uncovered to allow for connection between the locomotive and the overhead electric lines.[2]

The bridge came into ownership of the Great Northern Railroad, and was used as a railroad bridge until 1967. It was purchased in 1969 by a private owner who replaced rails by wooden planking and used it for automobile access to their property.[2]

It was located one mile from County Route 4, in the vicinity of Colfax, in Whitman County, Washington.

The bridge was destroyed on September 7, 2020, by the Manning Fire, a wildfire that was started by a downed electric transmission line.[3]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. Lisa Soderberg (October 1979). "HAER Inventory: Manning-Rye Covered Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved September 2, 2018. With accompanying photo
3. Mathia, Jana (September 8, 2020). "Blaze destroys structures near Colfax". Whitman County Gazette. Retrieved September 8, 2020 – via Omak Chronicle.