Red Oak Creek Bridge, Spanning (Big) Red Oak Creek, Huel Brown Road (Covered Bridge Road), Woodbury

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-138. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Spanning (Big) Red Oak Creek at Huel Brown Road (Covered Bridge Road), Woodbury vicinity, Meriwether County, Georgia The bridge is located at latitude: longitude: This point was obtained in November using Google Earth There is no restriction on its release to the public.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-138. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Red Oak Creek Bridge is one of sixteen surviving covered bridges in Georgia and may have been built by prominent bridge builder and former slave Horace King, or one of his sons. The bridge is notable for its long approach span, which is typical of southern bridge construction. Description: The vertical sway bracing has been damaged since the initial HAER documentation in These members no longer connect the tie beams and lattice web but now end at the bottom edge of the tie beam. History: The Meriwether Pike Scenic Byway was designated in and includes the Red Oak Creek Bridge in the fifty-five-mile highway route.1 The designation commemorates the legacy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his love of Meriwether County.

He was known to enjoy driving the countryside when he was in residence at his Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia. In the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation listed the Red Oak Creek Bridge on their annual Places in Peril List stating, A recent accident damaged several structural braces inside the bridge. With its popularity, the bridge provides an opportunity for improved heritage tourism, greater access for recreation and continued appreciation of history, but first, further protection of the bridge is necessary to ensure its continued longevity. 2 Undated photographs accompanying the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation listing indicate damage to the sway and chin bracing. 1 Memories Await in Meriwether, Meriwether Pike Scenic Byway, pike-scenic-byway/.

2 Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Places in Peril, Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge, Accessed June 15, RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 11) The Red Oak Creek Bridge remains open to vehicular traffic. The most recent bridge inspection was performed by the Georgia Department of Transportation in May The report indicates that damaged vertical sway braces were removed leaving vertical X-bracing above several tie beams.

According to the report, suggested maintenance includes the replacement of damaged and decayed deck beams and stringers, decayed floor and running boards replacement of damaged sway bracing, plus replacement of four decayed piles and bents.3 Horace King Though no further scholarship has been uncovered to confirm a builder of the Red Oak Creek Bridge, the belief continues that Horace King, or his sons were the bridge builders. The Columbus Museum in Columbus, Georgia holds a small daguerreotype of Horace King in their collection. Included here with permission [Figure. 1], the image is captioned in the definitive work on Horace King, Bridging Deep South Rivers, with the following words: This view of King apparently dates from the same session that recorded his wife Frances.

Photographs of African American families in the South before the Civil War are extremely rare. Horace appears confident and relaxed, indications of his status and position as a public figure within the Chattahoochee Valley. Its residents were not surprised to see him supervising major construction jobs.4 King s purported connection to Red Oak Creek Bridge, coupled with routine maintenance and preservation awareness, will hopefully result in the continued stewardship of this important historic resource in the state of Georgia. Georgia Covered Bridges According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, as of May there are fourteen remaining covered bridges in the state.5 3 Georgia Department of Transportation, Bridge Inspection Report, Bridge (Routine).

May 2, Copy sent to author via email from Byron Patterson, GDOT Bridge Asset Manager, June 15, 4 John S. Lupold and Thomas L. French, Bridging Deep South Rivers: The Life and Legend of Horace King (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 81. 5 Explore Georgia, A Guide to Georgia s Covered Bridges, May Accessed June 15, RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 12)

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-138. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Explore Georgia. A Guide to Georgia s Covered Bridges, May Accessed June 15, georgias-covered-bridges. Georgia Department of Transportation. Bridge Inspection Report, Bridge (Routine). May 2, Copy sent to author via email from Byron Patterson, GDOT Bridge Asset Manager, June 15, Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge, Places in Peril Accessed June 15, Lupold, John S. and Thomas L. French, Jr. Bridging Deep South Rivers: The Life and Legend of Horace King. Athens: University of Georgia Press, Meriwether Tourism. Meriwether Pike Scenic Byway, Memories Await in Meriwether.

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER GA-138. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

Measured drawings and this addendum history were prepared by a student team from Georgia State University in Chad Keller, director of the university s Heritage Preservation Program, supervised the project. Swathi Jayakumar and Sarah Borcherding prepared the measured drawings. Sarah Borcherding also prepared this addendum history and took digital photographs of the bridge. The image of Horace King is used with the permission of the Columbus Museum, Columbus, Georgia. RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 13) Figures: Figure 1. Horace King, ca. Courtesy of The Columbus Museum, GA; Museum purchase RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 14) Figure 2. The Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge. View of the east elevation looking north. The digital photographs in Figs.

2-9 were taken by Sarah Borcherding in RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 15) Figure 3. Interior of the Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge looking north. RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 16) Figure 4. Detail of the roof framing. Interior with camera facing north. RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 17) Figure 5. Interior of the east fa ade near south portal. Lattice panel assembly with chin brace and metal guard rail. Note small metal sign marking high water in Camera facing east. RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 18) Figure 6. Detail of high-water mark signage. RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 19) Figure 7. Deck framing. Note splintered beam that is slated for future Georgia Department of Transportation replacement. Camera facing southwest.

RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 20) Figure 8. Deck and trestle assembly of the north approach. Camera facing northeast. RED OAK CREEK BRIDGE HAER No. GA-138 (Page 21) Figure 9. Height gate on Covered Bridge Road approaching the bridge from the south. Camera facing southwest.