Covered Bridge Ridge

JOHNSTON

373′

(#24 of 100 North Carolina county highpoints)

We began our morning with this beautiful sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.

Then we stopped in Johnston County for the highpoint.

Here we are in the recently established Highgate development, located near Clayton.

It’s a short walk on the newly poured asphalt pathway to a small ridge of trees alongside Covered Bridge Road.

And it really is a very pretty day, even if you’re not at the beach.

Which gave me time to reflect on….COVERED BRIDGE ROAD.
There’s got to be some history in that name!

And sure enough, here is the Clayton Covered Bridge that spanned the Neuse River once upon a time. It was a “Town Lattice Truss” design, which was patented in 1820 by Ithiel Town. https://bridgehunter.com/nc/johnston/clayton-covered/

There aren’t many covered bridges in North Carolina. In fact, there are only three remaining that were originally constructed for vehicular traffic.

This bridge was actually imported from New Hampshire in 1960, put in storage for 40 years, then placed here at the entrance to the Bascom Arts Center in Highland.

There are other covered bridges, but they were designed for pedestrian traffic. This one is my favorite:

….but probably not.

(Green Heron, Pee Dee NWR, July 2021)