Coheelee Creek Bridge

Coheelee Bridge is the southernmost (historic/authentic) covered bridge in the United States. The late Dr. John H. Goff, University of Georgia, studied unique Georgia placenames for many years and wrote a series of articles on them. He explains the variation in many Indian names come from the switching back and forth from the Indian dialects to English and then back to the dialects again. And so the name COHEELEE is a good example of this practice. In the 1820's this narrow rambling creek, that rises about "a half mile" west of Blakely, was labeled "BIG CREEK" on surveyor Robert Kennedy's map but according to Mary Grist Whitehead, "somehow the Indian name survived and was preferred by the early settlers." -From "Covered Bridges of Georgia" by Thomas L. French, Jr. & Edward L. French

On a visit in April 2001 I found this bridge after driving for a while along a dirt road that was being worked on. The signs for Fannie Askew Williams Park were better than for the covered bridge and the bridge is in the park. The entrance to the park must be further down the road because I ended up on the wrong side of the bridge and had to cross it to get to the park.

Built in 1891, this bridge uses steel rods as tension members in it's truss design. The result is similar to a queen post or Warren truss. The angled rods make the bridge unique, certainly in Georgia if not the entire US. The use of steel rods was fairly common for the late 19th century and can also be seen on the Concord Road Bridge and the Lula Bridge.

Note: You may want to stop at a great little restaurant "Michelle's" in Lumpkin while in the area. Also nearby is historic Westville and Kolomoki Mounds State Park. Check out the Historic Chattahoochee Commission for tours of historic sites in the area, including this bridge, John Godwin's grave, and the Kolomoki Indian Mounds.

County: Early
Other names: Bridge at McDonald's Ford
Length: 96 ft.
Width: ft.
Built: 1891
Builder: J.W. Baughman
Truss: Modified Queen Post
Stream: Coheelee Creek
Road name: Old River Road
Traffic: No
WGCB Number: 10-49-02
Parking: Yes
Picnic area: Yes
Historic marker: Yes
Owner: Early County

Repairs performed by DOT on this bridge.

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Updated September 19, 2002. 12:01