Whenever I have the opportunity to photograph a covered bridge, I take it. Mom and I had just left New Market Civil War Battlefield when we saw a sign for a covered bridge. The bridge wasn't far. We headed towards it. It was Meem's Bottom Covered Bridge, named after the Meems family, large landholders in the area.
Newest bridge, c. 1892
At 204 feet, Meem's Bottom Covered Bridge is the longest covered bridge in Virginia. There are only seven covered bridges left standing in Virginia. It is believed that there were at least two other bridges before the current one was built in 1892. The first bridge was likely burned in 1862 by Stonewall Jackson. The second was washed away by floodwaters in 1870.
The bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. I never did find the historical marker. The bridge was burned by vandals (on Halloween) in 1976 and put back into service in 1979.
Out for a Sunday drive