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What is a "World Guide Number?" Local naming of covered bridges can prove to be inconsistent, and many bridges have more than one name. Each bridge in this section has a unique identification called a World Guide Number. This system of identifying covered bridges on a national scale was developed in the 1950s and has been adopted by the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. The assigned World Guide Number for each bridge is the combination of a state, county and bridge identifier. Oregon, being the 37th state alphabetically, dictates the first two digits of the identifier. The counties are also assigned numbers in alphabetical order. All bridges in Benton County, for example, contain the number 37-02- because Benton County is the second county in the state alphabetically. The third set of numbers are assigned to the actual bridge location, although the name of the bridge or stream is not a factor in the assignment. Many bridges have been destroyed since the adoption of the World Guide Number. Since the number is not reused or reassigned, some numbers are missing. Combinations of numbers and letters denote a bridge which does not use a true truss for support but is covered nonetheless.
Information included in this section was provided by Bill Cockrell, who with his brother Nick authored "Roofs Over Rivers" and is presented here in cooperation with the Covered Bridge Society of Oregon. |
Location:
From I-5 take Highway 58 east to Dexter, just west of Lowell. Turn south on Lost Creek Road. Turn right onto Rattlesnake Road from Lost Creek Road at Mile Point 1.8, and follow Rattlesnake west for 0.5 miles. Turn south on Lost Valley Lane to Parvin Road. Alternately, exit Highway 58 at Lost Creek Road and travel southeast to Parvin Road. Continue south on Parvin Road to the bridge.
Location:
From Eagle Point, continue southeast on Royal Avenue to Highway 140. Alternately, travel east on Highway 140 from Highway 62, Crater Lake Highway. Continue on Highway 140 to Lake Creek Loop Road. From Lake Creek Loop Road, travel south through Lake Creek on South Fork Little Butte Creek Road. Turn south on Lost Creek Road and continue approximately one half mile. Lost Creek Bridge is 4 miles south of Lake Creek.
Location:
From Corvallis take Highway 20 through Philomath to Wren. Exit the highway, turn right twice to head back under the highway (veering) to the right at the "Y". Continue to travel west on Harris Road for approximately 2.5 miles.
Background:
The Harris Bridge was built by H. W. Fiedler to replace a covered bridge at the same site. Although Benton County records show 1936 as the construction date, some locals claim the span may have been built in 1929.
Location:
From Springfield take Highway 126 east approximately 46 miles to the community of McKenzie Bridge. One mile west of the small town of Rainbow, turn south on McKenzie River Drive. Follow McKenzie River Drive for about 0.8 miles to King Road West.
Background:
The Belknap Bridge occupies a site in which a covered bridge has been in continuous use since 1890. The neighboring community recognized the importance of a river crossing at that location and adopted the name "McKenzie Bridge."
Location:
From Springfield travel east on the McKenzie River Highway (Oregon Highway 126) for about 25.5 miles. Goodpasture Bridge is on Goodpasture County Road at Highway 126 just east of Vida.
Background:
The Goodpasture Bridge is one of the most beautiful and most photographed covered bridges in the state. Designed by the State Highway Department and built by Lane County, the classical and timeless architecture of this bridge is accentuated by Gothic style windows on both sides of the structure.
Location:
From Interstate 5 take Highway 58 east to Lowell. Alternately, from Unity follow Jasper-Lowell Road about 3 miles to Highway 58. Lowell is on the south side of Dexter Lake.
Background:
When Amos Hyland settled on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River in 1874, he plotted a small townsite and named it after his birthplace of Lowell, Maine.
Location:
From Springfield, follow 14th Street in Springfield and travel northeast (as it becomes Marcola Road) to Marcola. At Marcola, turn right (east onto Wendling Road and follow the road to the bridge. Alternately, from Earnest Bridge, follow Paschelke Road about 1.3 miles to Wendling Road. Turn east on Wendling Road to Mile Point 3.5.
Background:
In the 1890s, George Wendling, director of Booth-Kelly Lumber Company, established a post office in the small town which bears his name.
Location:
From I-5 exit I-105 east to Marcola Road. Follow Marcola Road approximately 14 miles. Earnest Bridge is located on Paschelke Road.
Background:
The Earnest Bridge enjoys the distinction of having appeared in the movie "Shenandoah," filmed in the Mohawk Valley during the mid-1960s. The movie company requested permission from the county to "alter" the bridge to reflect Civil War architecture, and promised to restore the bridge to equal or better condition.
Location:
Travel one mile east of Cottage Grove on Row River Road. Follow the sign to Mosby Creek Road by turning right, and crossing the railroad track. Turn left on Mosby Creek Road and travel southeast two miles to the bridge. Alternately, from Currin Bridge continue southwest on Layng Road to Mile Point 0.2 to Mosby Creek Bridge.
Background:
The Mosby Creek Bridge is Lane County’s oldest covered bridge, having been built in 1920 at a cost of $4,125 by Walter and Miller Sorenson.
Location:
Travel one mile east of Cottage Grove on Row River Road. Follow the sign to Mosby Creek Road, turning right and crossing the railroad tracks. Turn left (south) on Mosby Creek Road and travel approximately 3.5 miles to Garoutte Road.
Background:
As with other wooden bridges in Oregon, the Stewart Bridge has had its share of woes. Heavy rains of the 1964 "Christmas Flood" brought water raging down Mosby Creek with the resulting force cracking the lower chords of the bridge.
