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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Locust Creek (original location), Linn County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: MO/25-58-01
County: Linn County
Township:
Town/Village: Laclede
Bridge Name: Locust Creek (original location)
Crosses: Dry Channel, Locust Creek
Truss type: Howe
Spans: 1
Length: 151'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1868
Builder: Bishop & Eaton
When Lost: 26 Feb 2025
Cause: Moved
Latitude: N39 45.250
Longitude: W093 13.040
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 1.0 miles north of jct US36 on MO139, then 1.7 miles right on CR Y and 1.7 miles ahead on Dart Rd. A dead end road. Park and walk 0.3 miles. East-northeast of Meadville.

Locust Creek Bridge (original location), near Meadeville, Linn County, MO. Built 1868, Moved February 26, 2025
Bill Caswell Photo, August 2004

Locust Creek Bridge (original location), near Meadeville, Linn County, MO. Built 1868, Moved February 26, 2025
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, September 1, 2018

Locust Creek Bridge (original location), near Meadeville, Linn County, MO. Built 1868, Moved February 26, 2025
Richard Donovan/Trish Kane Collection

Locust Creek Bridge (original location), near Meadeville, Linn County, MO. Built 1868, Moved February 26, 2025
Todd Clark Collection

Locust Creek Bridge (original location), near Meadeville, Linn County, MO. Built 1868, Moved February 26, 2025
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, September 1, 2018

Comments:
Closed to motor vehicle traffic. The bridge was built of white pine on the main east-west road across northern Missouri which later became route 8. The road ran parallel to the Hannibal and Saint Joseph Railroad. Per The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, April 1, 1927, the covered bridge across Locust Creek on Route 8 was to be replaced with a modern structure for $40,000. The article claimed a build date for the bridge of 1841 for a cost of $873. In 1930, US Route 36 replaced route 8 taking most of the traffic off of the bridge. After World War II, Locust Creek was straightened so it no longer passed under the bridge. Over the years, floodwaters deposited sediment which eventually built up to the point where the bridge was sitting in the mud. The bridge was in poor condition during George Gould's visit in 1957. In 1991, the bridge was raised six feet to get it off the ground and protect the floor timbers. On February 26, 2025, the bridge was moved intact to a new location within Pershing State Park to be part of the park’s trail system. It is the longest of Missouri's four remaining bridges measuring 151 feet.

Sources:
The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune, April 1, 1927, page 1.
National Society For the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Covered Bridge Topics, Volume XV, No. 2, July 1957, page 4
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 43

Compilation 2026 Covered Spans of Yesteryear

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