The Covered Bridges of Northern Frederick County

Old-Time Wooden Bridges Show Off Historic Architectural Features

Dec 3, 2008

Though covered bridges are generally a thing of the past, Maryland's largest county still has three of them that are a popular attraction for tourists.

The covered bridges of northern Frederick County, Maryland, are something from another era when roads were rougher and vehicles were horse-drawn. They are the covered bridges of Frederick and Adams counties.

“I think the covered bridges are evocative of early transportation,” said John Fieseler, executive director of the tourism council of Frederick County, “It’s a definite magnet to tourists in the county.”

Frederick County has three of the eight remaining covered bridges in Maryland and they are all along “The Journey Through Hallowed Ground.”

The three Frederick County bridges are the Roddy Road Covered Bridge, the Loys Station Covered Bridge and Utica Mills Covered Bridge. The Sachs Covered Bridge is in Adams County.

“We are fortunate here that you can drive across all three bridges (in Frederick County),” Fieseler said. “People driving across them can get a feeling of nostalgia hearing the clickety clack of the floorboards.”

This was a Howe truss bridge built between 1850 and 1860 near Thurmont. It is a barn-red, one-lane bridge over Owens Creek. The bridge's design uses multiple king post trusses covered with beveled clapboard, and was rebuilt after an arsonist's fire nearly destroyed it in 1991. Whenever possible, original materials were used in the reconstruction and you can still see some of the charred timbers. This bridge originally was 90 feet long but was modified by adding a concrete pier and steel beams that created 2-45 foot spans. The roadway is 12.5 feet wide.

The bridge is surrounded by a community park with a playground, picnic pavilions and access to swimming in Owens Creek.

Roddy Road Covered Bridge

Roddy Road Covered Bridge is located just north of Thurmont. It was built in 1856. The bridge spans Owens Creek just east of Route 15 where Roddy Creek Road intersects with Roddy Road. It is the smallest covered bridge in the county measuring 45 feet in length. It features a King Post design.

Also called the Burr Arch Truss Bridge, Utica Mills was built between 1850 and 1860 over Fishing Creek along Utica Mills Road. It is 100 feet long and modified with steel stringers and a concrete pier creating two 50-foot spans. The bridge has a Burr truss, named after Theodore Burr, who patented the design in 1817. The roadway is 17-feet wide. The bridge originally spanned the nearby Monocacy River but an 1889 storm washed it away. Citizens gathered the remains and reconstructed the bridge at its present site.

The copyright of the article The Covered Bridges of Northern Frederick County in Maryland Travel is owned by Jim Rada. Permission to republish The Covered Bridges of Northern Frederick County in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.