Neal Lane
Neal Lane Covered Bridge spans Myrtle Creek. The bridge spans 42-feet making it one of the shortest covered bridges and the only king post truss design.
Neal Lane Covered Bridge Built in 1939
King Post Truss System
Kingpost Truss
According to the Covered Bridge Manual (2005), “the kingpost truss is not very common in the extant United States covered bridge population. There are only about 30 kingpost covered bridges remaining in the United States, with spans ranging from [22 to 70 feet]” (p. 36).
In the Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Covered Bridges (2019), the kingpost is one of three ancient truss systems. The other two are queenpost and multiple kingpost.
Neal Lane
In addition to the unique kingpost truss, the bottom chords were hand-sewn single logs. I was not able to photograph the chords. But the knowledge does add to the uniqueness of Neal Lane.
Myrtle Creek History
Letitia Carson (1815 - 1888)
Neal Lane spans Myrtle Creek.
In my research of the area, I discovered the history of Letitia Carson. “On October 1, 1868, Letitia Carson’s claim was certified by President Ulysses S. Grant, making her the only Black woman to successfully secure a claim [to 160 acres].”
Neal Lane Covered Bridge would be built 51 years later. Letitia may not have built a physical bridge; however, her pioneering spirit bridged a different type of gap.
🚚Active Bridge - This is an active bridge with traffic.
🛣️Road Side Parking - This is an active bridge without parking. One must pull off the road and engage hazard lights.
➡️Bridges nearby - Horse Creek/Myrtle Creek
