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Utica Mills (relocated), Frederick County

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

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: MD/20-10-01
County: Frederick County
Township: Utica
Town/Village: Lewistown
Bridge Name: Utica Mills (relocated)
Crosses: Fishing Creek
Truss type: Multiple King & Arch
Spans: 2
Length: 100'
Roadway Width:
Built: c1850 (M1889)
Builder:
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N39 31.513
Longitude: W077 23.867
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: Take Fish Hatchery Rd. 0.5 miles east from jct US15, then right 0.5 miles on Hessong Bridge Rd., then left 0.9 miles on Utica Rd.

Utica Mills Bridge, Lewistown, MD Built c1850
© Lisa Plamondon

Utica Mills Bridge, Utica, Frederick County, MD Built c1850 (M1889)
Bill Caswell Photo, July 27, 2013

Comments:
Thrifty Maryland forebears saved this bridge from complete destruction when a flood swept half of it away in 1889. The bridge originally spanned the Monocacy River on Devilbliss Road, but after the flood the remainder was moved by wagon to Utica, about two and a half miles away, and reassembled over Fishing Creek. In 1934 Utica Mills' flooring was reinforced with steel beams and a center pier was added for additional support. In 1993 an oversized truck cracked a support beam. After the accident it was discovered that termites and post beetles had caused much of the bridge's timber to rot. In December 1996 a rehabilitation project for Utica Mills Covered Bridge began at a cost of $337,000. The contract was awarded to the contracting team of Arnold M. Graton and Associates, Dean Fitzgerald Heavy Timber Construction and DCF Engineering. Restoration of the bridge included lifting the bridge; replacing all the chord and arch members that bear on the abutments, major improvements to the stone abutments, repair rotted bottom chords; removal of the siding and reinstalling 80% of the original siding after re-painting, a new roof; and replacing steel stringer beams with new I-beams. With the new steel beams, the load limit was increased to 15 tons. It reopened in the spring of 1997. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 23, 1978.

Sources:
Maryland Covered Bridges - www.mdcoveredbridges.com
Maryland's Bygone Covered Bridges - www.mdcoveredbridges.com
Maryland State Highway Administration. Utica Mills Covered Bridge, http://www.sha.state.md.us/KeepingCurrent/maintainRoadsBridges/bridges/oppe/bridgebook/hist_bridges/utica.asp
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 38

Compilation 2026 Covered Spans of Yesteryear

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