Patterson Covered Bridge No. 112
Why it's listed
Orangeville's Patterson Covered Bridge is a Burr Truss Arch structure measuring 81.66 feet long, with a roadway 14.6 feet wide and 11 feet of clearance. It has four diagonal braces on either side of a central king post. The roof is covered in tarred metal panels laid over wooden ribs and rafters, and the portals and side walls are finished in board and batten. Three side windows carry moveable board and batten awnings. The roadway is horizontal boards with a single wide runway laid over them, and many of the undergirding braces are new wood, with several beams treated with creosote. The abutments were largely rebuilt in reinforced concrete, though much of the original stone and mortar approach walls remain. Frank Derr is named as builder. The bridge is important to Columbia County's transportation history, when travel between farms, saw mills and grist mills drove the need for crossings. Its truss design also reflects the engineering choices the county used for covered bridges, and no comparable bridge has been built there in fifty years.
Significance in brief: The bridge is significant in engineering and transportation. The document places it within the county's covered bridges, which it says were built with varied truss designs suited to span length and are unique because none has been built in the county for half a century. Bridges of this kind served the growth of towns and the farm, saw mill and grist mill businesses that depended on travel between them.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 79003193, listed November 29, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | SR 575, Orangeville |
|---|---|
| County | Columbia County |
| Listed | November 29, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79003193 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Architect / builder | Frank Derr (builder) |
| Architectural style | Burr Truss Arch |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 41.10951, -76.41715 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 79003193.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7148433
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.