Scenic USA - Virginia

Meems Bottom Covered Bridge

Scenic USA on Facebook

Scenic USA
on Facebook


Home Archives Previous Next

Meems Bottom Covered Bridge - Mt Jackson, Virginia
Photos by Ben Prepelka
Ben Prepelka Photography

   Known as the breadbasket of the Confederacy during Meems Bottom Bridge - Mount Jackson, Virginia the Civil War period, the Shenandoah Valley has always been recognized as a rich farmland. During the early 1700s, eastern Virginian pioneers were cut off from moving into the valley by the eastern Blue Ridge Mountains. It was settlers from the north, mainly Pennsylvania's German and Scots-Irish, that established the first extensive farms in the valley. Meems Bottom Bridge River View - Mount Jackson, Virginia
   Here at Meems Bottom, one of the countless valley farming areas, rests one of the last covered bridges in Virginia that supports regular traffic. Nearby Mount Jackson, the Meems Bottom Covered Bridge features a 200 foot single span wooden Burr arch stucture. Built in 1892 by Franklin Hiser Wissler, this wooden bridge over the North Fork provided access to his apple orchards at Strathmore Farms.
   The Meems Bottom Bridge was not the first on this site. It's believed that two prior Meems Bottom Bridge Interior - Mount Jackson, Virginia bridges were lost by fire and flood. The first bridge was probably burned in 1862 by Stonewall Jackson's Rebels, and the second, washed away by floodwaters in 1870. Again in 1976, the bridge was burned by naive pranksters on Halloween. Original timbers were salvaged and the bridge was reconstructed. The bridge was also strengthened with steel beams and concrete piers, and reopened to traffic in 1979. This view through the bridge neatly frames the beautiful tree-lined lane leading in from U.S. Route 11.

     Area Map
    


Additional Points of Interest

Scenic USA Prints from
Fine Art America

Art Prints


 

    Copyright © 2020 Benjamin Prepelka
    All Rights Reserved