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Elizabethton, Carter County

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Inventory Number: TN/42-10-01
County: Carter County
Township:
Town/Village: Elizabethton
Bridge Name: Elizabethton
Crosses: Doe River
Truss type: Howe
Spans: 1
Length: 134'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1882
Builder:
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N36 20.841
Longitude: W082 12.706
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.2 miles south of jct TN91 (Broad St.) on US19E/321/PA37, then 0.1 miles right on Elk Ave., then 0.1 miles left on Main St. and 0.1 miles right on 3rd St. Between Main St. and Riverside Dr.

Elizabethton Bridge, Elizabethton, Carter County, TN Built 1882
Bill Caswell Photo, July 27, 2008

Comments:
There was a ford at, or near, the bridge's location in the mid-nineteenth century, but frequent floods made crossing the river unpredictable and hazardous, and by the 1860s the community began discussing potential sites for a bridge on Doe River. Nothing was done, however, until 1881, when the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina (“Tweetsie”) Railroad completed a railroad line from Johnson City, Tennessee, to Cranberry, North Carolina, and constructed a depot on the north side of the river at Elizabethton. In January 1882 the Carter County Court ordered an appropriation of $1,500 for a bridge across Doe River leading to the depot and a second appropriation of $1,500 for a bridge "across Watauga River near Elizabethton." A committee was appointed to locate the crossings, and railroad engineer Col. Thomas E. Matson supervised the work. In April 1882, the committee reported "that it is impracticable to construct a bridge at all across the Watauga River" and recommended using the total appropriation for a single bridge across Doe River. The county court authorized the transfer of funds and appointed a committee to oversee construction of the bridge. A local carpentry crew built the bridge during the summer of 1882. Elizabethton physician and businessman E.E. Hunter served as financier and general contractor. In January 1883, the county court authorized a contract for completion of the approaches to the bridge. One year later, the county court laid out specifications for weatherboarding and painting the bridge. The roof was to be "hipped at each end" and covered with chestnut shingles, and the siding was to be yellow poplar clapboards "with 1¼ inch lap." It was the only vehicular bridge in Elizabethton until the 1920s, when a concrete arch bridge was constructed at Elk Avenue. In 1926, Carter County and the City of Elizabethton agreed to share the expense of repairing the covered bridge, "on condition that the City pay the other one half of expense of said repair bill and hereafter take charge of the bridge." Since that time, the City of Elizabethton has maintained the bridge. In 1973, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing structure to the Elizabethton Historic District. The bridge remains essentially intact, although it has been repaired on numerous occasions. A standing seam metal roof replaced the original cedar shingle roof sometime prior to 1938, and the present wood shingle roof replaced that roof in 1993. In 1972 the covered bridge was declared unsafe and underwent substantial repairs costing $36,000. In 2003, it was rehabilitated under a Transportation Enhancement Grant from the Federal Highway Administration.

Source:
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 136

Compilation 2026 Covered Spans of Yesteryear

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