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Cabin Creek, Lewis County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

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Inventory Number: KY/17-68-03
County: Lewis County
Township:
Town/Village: Rectorville
Bridge Name: Cabin Creek
Crosses: Cabin Creek
Truss type: Multiple King & Arches
Spans: 1
Length: 114'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1873
Builder: Mr. Bryant of Ohio
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N38 36.563
Longitude: W083 37.278
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 4.8 miles west of jct. KY57 on Cabin Creek Rd. to the bridge on the left side of road on a bypassed section. Northwest of Tollesboro.

Cabin Creek Bridge, Rectorville, Lewis County, KY
Bill Eichelberger Photo, November 1986

Cabin Creek Bridge, Rectorville, Lewis County, KY
Traugott Keller Photograph, March 21, 1953, NSPCB Archives

Cabin Creek Bridge, Rectorville, Lewis County, KY
Bill Caswell Photo, November 25, 2011

Cabin Creek Bridge, Rectorville, Lewis County, KY
Bill Caswell Photo, July 22, 2014

Cabin Creek Bridge, Rectorville, Lewis County, KY
Jenn Caswell Photo, July 22, 2014

Comments:
Several names have been listed for this bridge, such as: Cabin Creek, Mackey Hughes; Jones Farm; and Ferguson Farm. Jones Farm and Ferguson Farm actually refer to other covered bridges which used to stand in Lewis County. The March 1948 issue of Topics (page 11) lists the bridge as "Across Cabin Creek near the Mackey Hughes farm." Editor Richard Sanders Allen credited the information to a list compiled by J. Winston Coleman. However, the September 1945 list believed to be the source of this information does not actually mention the Mackey Hughes farm. Mackey Hughes is listed as a farmer living on Cabin Creek Turnpike in the 1910, 1920, 1930 and 1940 census records. His son, Cecil Hughes, is shown as the owner of the property at the east side of the bridge on a set of roadway plans dated 1950. The bridge was thought to have been built in 1873 by William Henderson who owned the property near the bridge and is buried near the bridge. However, the 1912 History of Lewis County, Kentucky stated that it was built by “Mr. Bryant of Ohio.” Major restoration work was done by Louis Bower in 1912 or 1914. That work included adding iron rod counter braces and a Burr arch, consisting of five laminated poplar timbers bolted together. The diagonal iron rods, which acted as counter braces, were added to the six panels at each side of the center Kingpost, were passing diagonally between the center of each of the double timber Kingpost diagonal braces. Because of this, the bridge has been mistakenly identified as a Childs truss. The structure rests on dry, rough-cut limestone abutments, the left downstream or east abutment having a poured concrete facing added in 1981. Three poured concrete pillars support a large, crosswise, steel I-beam that was added about 10' from the east abutment, around 1978 to support the sagging truss. The bridge was bypassed in 1983, and received little or no maintenance leaving it in a badly deteriorated state. The bridge was restored by Arnold Graton in 2013. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26, 1976. 12-panel truss.

Sources:
Ragan, O. G. "History of Lewis County, Kentucky", Cincnnati, 1912, page 53
White, Vernon. Covered Bridges, Focus on Kentucky, 1985, pages 89-94
National Society For the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Covered Bridge Topics, Volume VI, No. 1, March 1948, page 10
Database of Kentucky covered bridges compiled by Robert W. M. Laughlin
Laughlin, Robert W. M. and Melissa C. Jurgensen. Covered Bridges of Kentucky, 2007, page 108
Wood, Miriam F. & Simmons, David A.. Covered Bridges: Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, 2007, pages 242, 249
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 34

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