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Dover or Lee's Creek, Mason County

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Inventory Number: KY/17-81-01
County: Mason County
Township:
Town/Village: Dover
Bridge Name: Dover or Lee's Creek
Crosses: Lee's Creek
Truss type: Queen
Spans: 1
Length: 60'
Roadway Width:
Built: early 1900s
Builder:
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N38 45.02
Longitude: W083 52.73
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.4 miles east of KY1235 and Dover on KY8, then 0.1 miles right on Lees Creek Rd.

Dover Bridge, Dover, Mason County, KY Built c1835
Bill Caswell Photo

Dover Bridge, Dover, Mason County, KY Built c1835
Bill Eichelberger Photo, October 1986

Dover Bridge, Dover, Mason County, KY Built c1835
Traugott Keller Photograph, March 28, 1953, NSPCB Archives

Dover Bridge after tornado of April 1968, Dover, Mason County, KY Built c1835
Todd Clark Collection

Dover Bridge, Dover, Mason County, KY Built c1835
Bill Caswell Photo, January 10, 2016

Comments:
5-panel truss. The Dover Bridge over Lee's Creek was reportedly built around 1835 and was originally constructed as a toll bridge. News articles could indicate that significant work was done in 1885 and 1920. Either or both of those projects could have completely rebuilt the bridge. The 62-foot span was built in an unusual low Queenpost truss design similar to early barn construction. Per The Evening Bulletin (Maysville), February 15, 1884, "The bridge over Lee's Creek at Dover has floated off from the piers." This was due to an extensive wide-spread flood of the Ohio River at the time. In the same report, "The bridge over Lawrence Creek on the Blue Run and Dover Turnpike has been lifted from its foundation." It was not reported what happened to the bridges. There are reports that it was repaired by Bower Bridge Company in 1912 but no information about how extensive the repairs were. It was possibly raised to its present height in 1920 during the repairs described in news articles from that year. Per the Maysville Bulletin, September 9, 1920, "BRIDGE PRONOUNCED UNSAFE. - The big bridge spanning Lee's Creek, about half 1/2 mile east of Dover, and known as the Dover-Maysville bridge, was pronounced unsafe Tuesday. The heavy rain and age of the structure has about put it out of business. Judge Purnell says it will require over $100,000 to place the bridges, culverts and turnpikes of Mason county in as good condition as they were before the washouts." Per the Maysville Bulletin, November 4, 1920, "DOVER BRIDGE SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OLD - The historic old wooden-covered bridge, on Lee's Creek, adjoining Dover on the south, which has been torn down the past week, was erected in 1885. Edward, Alex, George and William Hanna, of Dover, the well-known old-time contractors, for the Dover and Tuckahoe Turnpike Co., when the pike of that name was constructed from Dover to Maysville via, Tuckahoe Ridge. County Road Engineer Simons and force are at work erecting a new bridge which will be built out of the old timbers, partly, but with new iron, concrete and rock bases. The new bridge will be very like the old one, a covered bridge." The claim of an 1885 build date could be accurate, but is uncertain. The information clashes with its own headline claiming a 65-year age for the bridge (which would support 1855 as a build date). Per The Public Ledger (Maysville), November 22, 1920, "DOVER BRIDGE COMPLETED. - County Judge H. P. Purnell announces this morning that the new bridge on the Dover pike is now completed and open for travel. This bridge is one of the largest and most substantial in the county. The 1920 rebuild probably resulted in significant reuse of original wood. The original plan in October 1920 was to replace the bridge with a new one of iron. Repairs were carried out by the Kentucky Department of Highways at a cost of $16,000 dollars in 1966. During that project, the pitch of the roof was changed and vent panels were not replaced. The bridge originally sat on natural limestone abutments. They were faced in concrete during the repairs. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26, 1976. The National Register application notes that the 1966 repairs were necessary after a tornado struck the area. However, the tornado actually occurred two years later on April 23, 1968. Most of the buildings in Dover were damaged or destroyed at that time. The tornado tor the roof off of the bridge. The National Register data also states that the 1966 repairs included steel I-beams to handle increased traffic loads. That conflicts with an article in The Maysville Daily Independent of Saturday, March 13, 1965, which states that steel beams were supporting the bridge at that time. The Maysville Daily Independent of Thursday, May 26, 1966 announced that $15,940 was authorized for repairs and on Thursday, October 6, 1966, the same paper reported that the project was complete. The bridge was bypassed in 2005, but not closed to traffic. Heavy rainfall during the night of July 22-23, 2017 caused significant damage throughout Mason County. During the flooding, the steel beams supporting the bridge, each weighing 12,000 pounds, were washed away. The bridge was shifted about two feet and left in a precarious position on its damaged abutments. In February 2018, Arnold M. Graton Associates stabilized the bridge until a long-term restoration plan could be developed. The project to repair the span began in January 2026.

Sources:

The Public Ledger (Maysville), November 22, 1920, p.1.
Maysville Bulletin, November 4, 1920, p.2.
Maysville Bulletin, September 9, 1920, p.1.
The Evening Bulletin (Maysville), February 15, 1884, p.3.
Kentucky Historical Marker #1439
White, Vernon. Covered Bridges, Focus on Kentucky, 1985, pages 94-99
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 115
Wood, Miriam F. & Simmons, David A.. Covered Bridges: Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, 2007, pages 243, 249
White, Warren H.. Covered Bridges in the Southeastern United States, 2003, Page 84
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 34

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