Frederick County is full of historic treasures. On a sunny warm day I suggest packing a picnic lunch and taking your camera for a 2 or 3 hour adventure through northern Frederick County to see the 3 remaining historic covered bridges. They are all located near Thurmont Maryland.
1. Utica Mills Covered Bridge
Utica Mills Covered Bridge
Utica Mills Covered Bridge, at 101 feet the longest of the historic covered bridges, was originally built over the Monocacy River in 1843.
Interior of Utica Mills Covered Bridge
It was washed out in June of 1889 by the same storm that caused the Johnstown Flood. The people of Utica salvaged one of the two spans of the bridge and moved it to its present location on Utica Road.
In 1934 the flooring was reinforced with steel beams and a center pier was added for additional support. The rafters were replaced in 1970. It was rehabbed in 1979. A lot of the tedious repair labor over the years was done manually using hand tools.
Utica Mills Covered Bridge is located on Utica Road, just a couple of miles North of Utica Regional Park. The Frederick Tourism website has a great map.
Historic Utica Mills Covered Bridge
2. Roddy Road Covered Bridge
Roddy Road Covered Bridge, the smallest of the historic bridges at just under 40 feet, was built by the Roddy family in 1856. It is located at the corner of Roddy Road and Roddy Creek Road, a half mile from U.S. 15, spanning Owens Creek.
Roddy Road Covered Bridge
Steel beams were added under Roddy Road’s flooring for support sometime in the early 1930s and have been replaced twice because of corrosion. The bridge was repainted to original historical standards in May of 1993.
Owens Creek at Roddy Road Covered Bridge
3. Loy’s Station Covered Bridge
Loy’s Station Covered Bridge was originally built c. 1860. It’s span is 90 feet across Owens Creek at a popular fishing spot. Across Old Frederick Road is Loy’s Station Park, a County park with playground, covered pavilion and a large field, great for group events or family picnics.
Loy's Staion Covered Bridge
At one time Western Maryland Railroad had a station stop at Loys, so the bridge became known as Loys Station Covered Bridge. It was rehabbed in 1976 as part of the Bicentennial celebration.
Inside view of Loy's Covered Bridge
In 1991 a pickup truck was set on fire while in the bridge as part of an insurance fraud scheme. The local community began raising money for bridge reconstruction, which cost was nearly $300,000. On June 25th, 1994 a celebration of the bridge rebuilding was held and on July 4, the bridge was officially opened to traffic.
Historic Loy's Station
All Three of Frederick County’s historic covered bridges were added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 23, 1978.
Enjoy our beautiful Historic Covered Bridges. Don’t forget your camera! Watch the video of Historic Covered Bridges in Frederick County.
Comments (4)Subscribe to CommentsComment