{"nrhp_refnum":"75000604","name":"Howard's Covered Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"3 mi. SE of Smithsonia on SR S2164 over Big Clouds Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Smithsonia","county":"Oglethorpe County","state":"GA","lat":33.985924778000026,"lon":-83.13338727399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-07-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 161-foot single-span covered wooden bridge over Big Clouds Creek, about three miles southeast of Smithsonia in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, built in 1904-05 and owned by the county.","why_significant":"It is one of 21 covered bridges remaining in Georgia and one of 13 still in use. It is also one of 13 surviving Georgia bridges of Town Lattice design. It was built under a Mr. Hunt, who learned the method from Washington King, and its lumber arrived on James Monroe Smith's private railroad.","narrative":"Big Clouds Creek Covered Bridge, also called Howard's Covered Bridge, carries an unpaved county road over Big Clouds Creek about three miles southeast of Smithsonia, Georgia. Built in 1904-05 by county convict labor under a Mr. Hunt, it is a single 161-foot span of Town Lattice truss made of rough-sawn heart pine, resting on local stone piers and sided with pine board and batten. The original wooden shingle roof was replaced with metal, the only recorded change. Hunt had learned the technique from Washington King, son of bridge builder Horace King. The lumber came from South Georgia by rail on James Monroe Smith's Smithonia and Dunlap Railroad, then by wagon to the site. The bridge is one of 21 covered bridges left in Georgia, 13 of them still in use, and one of 13 using the Town Lattice design patented by Ithiel Town in 1820. A broken lower chord on the west side has been propped with timbers.","period_of_significance":"1905","architect_builder":"Mr. Hunt (builder), who learned Town Lattice construction from Washington King","architectural_style":"Town Lattice truss covered bridge","criteria":[],"status_note":"In fair condition and in use with moderate traffic; a broken lower chord on the west side is temporarily supported by a timber crib and needs repair.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:40.772629-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_GA/75000604.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000604/624a8151f8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75000604/624a8151f8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HOWARD%27S_COVERED_BRIDGE.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HOWARD%27S_COVERED_BRIDGE.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93209218","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard%27s_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16980436"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/georgia/oglethorpe-county/howards-covered-bridge-75000604/"}