Nectar Covered Bridge

The Nectar Covered Bridge was a wood and metal combination style covered bridge which spanned the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River in Blount County, Alabama, United States. It was located on Nectar Bridge Road off State Route 160, just east of the town of Nectar, about 14 miles (16 kilometers) northwest of Oneonta. Nectar Covered Bridge was at one time the seventh-longest covered bridge in the country. The bridge remained open to single lane motor traffic from its construction until it was burned by vandals on June 13, 1993.[2]

Nectar CB
An old photo of the Nectar Covered Bridge.
Coordinates	33°57′22.45″N 86°37′34.17″W
Carries	single lane motor traffic
Crosses	Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River
Locale	Nectar, Alabama
Maintained by	Blount County Commission
ID number	01-05-04 (WGCB)
Characteristics
Design	Town Lattice truss
Total length	385 ft (117 m)
Load limit	3 US tons (2.72 metric tons)
History
Construction end	1934
Closed	June 13, 1993 by fire
Nectar Covered Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	1.1 acres (0.4 ha)
Architectural style	Four Span Town Truss
MPS	Blount County Covered Bridges TR
NRHP reference No.	81000124[1]
Added to NRHP	August 20, 1981

History

Built in 1934, the 385-foot (117-meter) bridge was a Town Lattice truss construction over four spans.[3] It was built by a crew led by foreman Zelma C. Tidwell over a wide section of the Locust Fork.[4] It was the third-longest covered bridge built in Blount County. At one time, the Nectar Covered Bridge was the seventh longest covered bridge in the country. The bridge was burned by vandals on June 13, 1993. It was maintained by the Blount County Commission and the Alabama Department of Transportation. The Nectar Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 20, 1981.[1]

Two stone piers remain where the Nectar Covered Bridge once stood. The bridge burned down in 1993.

The bridge was once a community meeting place and a site for large baptism ceremonies.[5] A concrete bridge has since replaced the former covered bridge, but the old stone piers remain across the river south of the current crossing.

See also

• List of Alabama covered bridges

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "State reward offered in covered bridge fire in Blount County". Tuscaloosa News. July 2, 1993. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
3. The Blount Countian, From the Archives of The Southern Democrat (October 4, 1928), Published October 6, 2010, Retrieved Feb. 2, 2016.
4. Weaver, Warren; Ellen Mertins (July 7, 1981). "Nectar Covered Bridge". National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013. See also: "Accompanying photos". Archived (PDF) from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
5. "Bridges to the Past". Max Shores. Retrieved December 24, 2013.

Further reading

• Prince, A. G. (1981). Alabama's Covered Bridges: Past and Present (Revised ed.). Ensley: Best Printing Service.
• "01-05-04". Round Barns & Covered Bridges. Dale J. Travis. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
• Stith, Mark J. (1997). "Tunnels in Time". Southern Living. ISSN 0038-4305. Retrieved September 24, 2007.
• The Birmingham News (July 17, 1972) news article. Retrieved October 30, 2007.
• Alabama Department of Archives and History. Nectar CB: Credits. Retrieved October 30, 2007.