Grays River Covered Bridge
N 46° 21.302 W 123° 34.883
10T E 455271 N 5133659
The only covered bridge in Washington that is still in use.
Waymark Code: WM1G6N
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 05/02/2007
Views: 27
On September 30, 1989, residents of the small community of Grays River in southwest Washington held a rededication ceremony to celebrate the rehabilitation of the oldest covered bridge in the state that still carries a public highway. The 155-foot Howe truss timber bridge was built across the Grays River in western Wahkiakum County in 1905 to help local dairy farmers get their goods to market. It was covered three years later to protect bridge timbers from the weather. The covered bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, but by 1987 it had serious structural deficiencies. Because of the landmark bridge's status as a tourist attraction, Wahkiakum County, which owns the structure, funded the 1988-1989 rehabilitation project that essentially built a new bridge using the original design configuration and as much hardware and siding as could be salvaged from the original.
A vintage photo owned by the University of Washington can be viewed here.