Johnson Creek Covered Bridge

US-1999792

The Johnson Creek Covered Bridge is located four miles north of Blue Licks Battlefield State Park in Robertson County and is no longer open 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).

The bridge was constructed in 1874 and is one of 13 that remain of more than 400 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.

A number of reasons have been offered to explain the construction of covered bridges in Kentucky during the 19th century. The protection the cover provided against wood deterioration was likely most important. The cover allowed timbered trusses and braces to season properly and kept water out of the joints, prolonging the life by seven to eight times that of an uncovered bridge. A second plausible reason is that the boarded sides and shingled roofs prevented horses from seeing the drop to the water below and becoming "spooked".