Watson Mill Bridge State Park - General Facts

The information on this page was collected by the staff at Watson Mill State Park. They were nice enough to allow it to be included on our site.

After a major expansion in 1998, the park now contains 1,020 acres. Features include the historical covered bridge which is on the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1885. The South Fork river flows through the middle of the park and is fed by many small creeks and streams. The general character of the park features the natural resources of the area in addition to its historical resources. There are several miles of nature trails and hiking trails as well as over 10 miles of horse trails (visitors must make arrangements to bring horses—there are no horses provided by the park). Those wishing to take extended hikes may walk the horse trails.

Facilities in addition to the trails include picnicking, camping (developed and primitive sites), canoeing, pedal boats, picnic shelters and a group shelter for gatherings, and wildlife exhibits at the park office/visitor center.

Covered Bridge History

The bridge was constructed in 1885 by W. (Washington) W King. He was the son of Horace King who was also a famous covered bridge builder in the South—he built many bridges across the Chattahoochee River. Horace King was also a former slave who was so good at his craft in carpentry and so well respected that his former slave owner made it possible for him to be a free man. When Washington built Watson Mill Bridge, the cost of construction was just over $3,000.00. Most of the lattice work on the inside of the bridge is original. At the bottom of these massive timbers numbers can still be seen which were used to show the construction crew where each piece was to go when constructing the bridge. The bridge was renovated in 1970 when the park service took over its care. The roof and weather boarding were replaced during the renovation. The lattice system is also called a truss system—this is what supports the bridge. This particular kind of truss system, called the Town lattice system, is typical of many covered bridge truss systems because it is so strong.

Historical marker at the bridge

The main question that people want to know the answer to is "Why were bridges built as covered bridges?" There is only one true answer and it is a very practical one. Covered bridges were built so the supporting timbers on the inside, the parts that actually support the bridge, would last a long time. As can be seen, this concept did work well as the Watson Mill Bridge is over 100 years old. The major reason these bridges were constructed out of wood is that it was the most economical and available material at the time they were constructed. Now there have been other stories that suggest other reasons for covered bridges being covered, such as the one that says "horses think they are going into a barn and not crossing a bridge over the river—therefore they aren't afraid to make the crossing." And, of course, the old "because folks could get out of the rain." But these are just a couple of many old stories that really do not bare the real truth as to why covered bridges were constructed.

These bridges are truly relics of the past. At one time there were over 200 covered bridges in Georgia. Now there are less than 15. Most of them went by the wayside for progress—when a new "modern" concrete bridge was constructed, the old covered bridge was often disassembled and disposed of as it was replaced or sometimes left in place beside the "new" bridge and neglected to simply fall to the forces of the natural elements and time.

Quick Facts about the Watson Mill Covered Bridge:

built in 1885
constructed by W. (Washington) W. King
229 feet long on its original site
supported on 4 piers
on National Register of Historic places
most of the wood used is mature heart pine

Where did Watson Mill Bridge get its name? When the bridge was built, in the late 1800's, there was a grist mill several hundred feet down river from the bridge. The mill was owned and operated by Gabriel Watson, thereby the bridge became known as Watson Mill Bridge. In fact, many of the old covered bridges of the past picked up their namesake from the local mill nearby. During the late 1800's, the area around Watson Mill Bridge was quite a community. There was a furniture shop located on the bottom floor of the mill, a blacksmith shop near the mill, a cotton gin, and a general store. The Watson Mill "community" was only 2 miles from Carlton, which in its day was a thriving town due to its location along the railroad. Gabriel Watson is buried, along with his wife, at the old Fork Cemetery on Watson Mill Park Road near the entrance to the park's horse trails.

The 1900's

Gates at head of raceway that carried water to powerplant

After the turn of the century, things were different. The old grist mill ceased to exist and the "community" around the old covered bridge also disappeared. The area had finally caught up with the "industrial age." In 1905, a new rock masonry dam replaced the old dam, a hydroelectric power plant was built about 300 yards from the new dam, and a 300 yard long raceway (a manmade canal to move water from one point to another) was constructed to supply the new hydroelectric power plant with water for power generation. At the end of the raceway sat the powerhouse. Water in the raceway would enter the penstock (a pipe which carries water to a water wheel or turbine) and the force of the water going through it would turn the power generator. The powerhouse was owned by Jefferson Mills (a textile mill) and the sole purpose of this powerhouse was to supply electrical power for the mill site in Crawford—about 10 miles away. By the mid 1900's, it was common for the rural areas to have plenty of electricity and the old powerhouse had become obsolete. So it was decided to close down the powerhouse—it was easier to get power from a public utility rather than maintaining the old powerhouse and the 10 miles of power line running from the powerhouse to the mill site in Crawford. The copper wiring and metal making up the generating equipment in the powerhouse was sold for scrap. A couple of decades went by and then came the move to turn the area over to the park service and the covered bridge became the focal point of Watson Mill Bridge State Park.

Back to the Watson Mill bridge.

Updated September 19, 2002. 14:58