Bob White Covered Bridge

Bob White Covered Bridge, Woolwine, Virginia

– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase –

Bob White Covered Bridge

In the last post we visited Jack’s Creek Covered Bridge, one of the two located in Patrick County in South Western Virginia. The second is the Bob White Covered Bridge which was build in 1921. This bridge also crosses Smith Creek. The Bob White bridge is also known as the Lower Covered Bridge (Jack’s Creek Bridge having the alternate name of the Upper Covered Bridge).

The bridge is named after the now closed Bob White Post Office, which in turn is named for the bobwhite quails which live in the area, although no one knows why. It served as an access route to the Smith River Church of the Brethren, located on the south side of the river.

Bob White Covered Bridge, Woolwine, Virginia

– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase –

It is said that the Jack’s Creek Bridge was the smaller prototype for the Bob White Bridge. The Bob White Covered Bridge is a Queenpost trust bridge. This bridge, though, is different from all of the historic covered bridges in Virginia. First, it has two spans while all the others, including the Jack’s Creek Bridge, have only a single span. Second, the building material is concrete for the substructure while the others use solid rubble or stacked stone blocks. Like Jack’s Creek, this bridge has a horizontal water deflector running the full length of the structure about 8-inches from the bottom as well as internal sheathing of diagonal boards both of which are clearly visible in the image above.

Bob White Covered Bridge, Woolwine, Virginia

– Click on the image to enlarge or purchase –

The bridge was bypassed to the west with a concrete bridge in 1981. Although closed to motor traffic, the Bob White Covered Bridge still attracts numerous visitors. The bridge is the site of annual horse-drawn wagon rides as part of the Patrick County Covered Bridge Festival which is held every June.

It was recorded with the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Find more covered bridges in Virginia here.