Last
Reflection in waters of Brush Creek in Randolph County, makes two bridges of
covered bridge built in 1917 by T.
Л.
Cox of near Coleridge. This is one of
few covered bridges still in use in North Carolina. — (Photo by Sebastian
Sommer.)
To those of you who are interested
in structures of a by-gone era — build¬
ings that are going the way of the
horsc-and-buggy and the Modcl-T
Ford (unrestored, that is) — please al¬
low me to describe a trip taken by my
wife, my son. and myself on a Sunday,
recently.
About a year ago, I decided I would
like to visit all the covered bridges in
the state before they were demolished
by the State Highway Department to
make way for concrete structures. The
Highway Department in Raleigh gra¬
ciously complied with my request to
send me maps of the two counties
wherein remain these bridges — Ran¬
dolph and Rockingham. There are
nine covered bridges left, and eight of
them arc in Randolph. There may not
even be nine now; since I received
my information, some may have been
torn down.
We were fortunate, however. On the
day we went "covered-bridge hunt¬
ing." we saw and took pictures of five,
the first five on our itinerary. Neither
my wife nor I arc very adept at fol¬
lowing maps; and the roads as shown
on the maps have no names; very few
have sign-posts. At any rate, after
leaving Salisbury at one-thirty, we
finally found our first bridge at three-
thirty. Two hours it took us. We de¬
cided right then and there that, at
that rate, it would take us till ten
o'clock to find them all. We gave up
the idea.
Instead, we would concentrate on
the five bridges located south of Ashc-
boro — and be satisfied if we found
four of them, or even three. Fortunate¬
ly. we found the second bridge about
four-thirty. We still had barely started,
and the sun was showing faint signs
of going down. Of course, we would
still have daylight for a few hours; but
the woods were full of shadows, and
we wanted to take some pictures.
Again luck was with us. The last
four bridges were fairly close together,
and there were numerous farm-houses
where we could inquire as to their
whereabouts. We found our third
bridge about five-thirty. I was all for
calling the whole business off and going
to find something to eat. My wife ve¬
toed this, though. Since, according to
the map, the other two were so close,
why not find them? So. find them we
did. We drove into Ashcboro about
seven-thirty.
Of the five we visited, the most
picturesque was the one we call Mill
Creek Bridge. It is approached from
the south by driving down a narrow,
curved, wooded road and onto the
bridge. This bridge, I believe, is the
longest; and also the one in the best
repair. When you cross it. you go up a
hill and into the front yard of Ralph
Cox, a young farmer who very gra¬
ciously told us how to get to the next
bridge. Incidentally, the road had al¬
ready been surveyed for a new bridge,
as had our first. This bridge, togeth¬
er with its setting, rated a color shot.
Wc had used all our color film, though;
so wc had to be content with using
black and white.
Nearly all the bridges were pic¬
turesque. All but one were located
deep in the woods, spanning a deep
creek. All arc well worth the time
spent in hunting, if one is interested
in them. Wc hope to go look for the
three remaining ones north of Ashc¬
boro sometime. I believe wc can find
these with far less difficulty, now that
wc have a general idea of the roads.
The easiest way is to plan your route
directly; and, with the aid of the mile¬
age given on the map and the speed¬
ometer of your car, drive right to them.
I made the mistake of not following
the speedometer.
After you cross the Yadkin River
12
THE STATE. APRIL 25. 1953