1927 Truss: (
Archived Bridge Hunter;
Bridge Hunter;
Historic Bridges;
B&T;
Satellite)
1972 Girder: (
Satellite)
One can call this bridge the "Old" Old Camp Nelson Bridge. The Camp Nelson Covered Bridge is the first of three bridges crossing the Kentucky River on US 27 (See Old Camp Nelson Bridge information and pictures). The bridge was a 240' long double barreled covered bridge built in 1838. Union troops during the Civil War used this bridge and the bridge continued to remain in use until 1926 when a truck fell through its floorboards. A new bridge, the "Old Camp Nelson Bridge," was built the same year and this bridge was closed to traffic. Efforts were made to save this bridge, but proved futile, and in 1933 the bridge was demolished. All that remains of the Camp Nelson Covered Bridge are its stone approaches and a preserved facade on its northern approach. The bridge that replaced this bridge was also replaced by a new bridge in 1972. The "replacement" bridge currently sits abandoned next to the ruins of the Camp Nelson Covered Bridge. [ArchivedBridgeHunter_1838]
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| Credit: Camp Nelson Heritage Park via BridgeHunter_1838 |
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| 1930 Photo from Kentucky Historical Society via BridgeHunter_1927 |
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| Public Domain via BridgeHunter_1838 |
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Public Domain via BridgeHunter_1838
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HistoricBridges
"This bridge is a rivet-connected Parker through truss. It appears to be unaltered and thus with good historic integrity." |
Bridges & Tunnels
posted four photos with the comment:
Once a strategic Civil War route, the Camp Nelson Bridge has seen three major iterations—1838, 1928, and 1974—each shaped by Kentucky’s evolving needs.
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Terri Jasper commented on the above post
Taken in 2013, it's the memorial recreation of the facade on Jessamine County side. |
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| Terri Jasper commented on the above post |
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| James McCray photo via BridgeHunter_1927 |
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SamTerrysKentucky
"German immigrant Lewis Wernwag and a crew of 20 men spent 10 months building the 240-foot [73m] long bridge containing a pair of 12-foot wide lanes. The bridge was the longest cantilever bridge in the United States, in its day an engineering phenomenon. During the Civil War it was the only bridge across the Kentucky River in central Kentucky and the site of a skirmish between Union and Confederate forces on March 28, 1863."
[Multiple sources called it a cantilever bridge. But I don't see how it can be cantilevered since it is supported on its ends.] |
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2:53 video
Truck Falls Through Floor of the Camp Nelson Covered Bridge
This video explains that a truck fell through the deck because of a rotten floorboard. |
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