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Beech Fork or Mt. Zion or Mooresville, Washington County

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Inventory Number: KY/17-115-01
County: Washington County
Township:
Town/Village: Mooresville
Bridge Name: Beech Fork or Mt. Zion or Mooresville
Crosses: Beech Fork
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 2
Length: 211'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1871
Builder: William P. and Henry J. Barnes
When Lost: 09 Mar 2021
Cause: Arson
Latitude: N37 49.681
Longitude: W085 15.382
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 4.7 miles south of jct Bluegrass Parkway or 2.4 miles north of jct KY55 on northwest side of KY458 (Mount Zion Rd.). South of Chaplin, 2 miles north of Mooresville.

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Comments:
The Beech Fork Bridge was built in 1871 for the Springfield and Chaplin Turnpike. The Laughlin & Jurgensen book Kentucky’s Covered Bridges states that the builder was Cornelius Barnes. It was built by two brothers, William P. and Henry J. Barnes, well-known carpenters from Mt. Washington, KY. The trusses are made of poplar wood. This bridge was bypassed and closed to traffic in 1975 or 1976. In 1982 a crumbling limestone center pier was repaired by a local stone mason with large sandstone blocks. The bridge underwent an extensive restoration by Arnold Graton Associates in 2016 & 2017. It was Kentucky’s longest historic covered bridge when it burned in a suspicious fire on March 9, 2021. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 26, 1976. 12-panel truss. Vertical siding.

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