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Carnahan's Ford or Sarvis Fork or New Era (relocated), Jackson County

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Inventory Number: WV/48-18-01
County: Jackson County
Township: Ravenswood
Town/Village: New Era
Bridge Name: Carnahan's Ford or Sarvis Fork or New Era (relocated)
Crosses: Left Fork, Sandy Creek
Truss type: Long
Spans: 1+
Length: 102.5'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1890 (M1924)
Builder: R.B. Cunningham, William Quincy and J. Grim
When Lost: 2000
Cause: Rebuilt/Replaced
Latitude: N38 55.27
Longitude: W081 38.68
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 3.7 miles east of I-77 (Exit 146), then 3.6 miles left on CR56, then 2.3 miles left on CR21 (old US21) and 0.3 miles right on Sarvis Fork Rd (CR21/15). Northeast of Sandyville, near New Era.

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Comments:
According to the National Register application form, on December 13, 1886, the contract to build this bridge on the site of an old bridge above Carnahan’s Ford was awarded to R. B. Cunningham. The material and style of the abutments and superstructure were to be like those of the then current Angerona Bridge (WV/48-18-07x). Payment for the abutments and superstructure were established at $3.40 per perch (16½ cubic feet) and $9.00 per linear foot respectively. For reasons not mentioned in the court records, the court ordered that all work and matters relating to the building of the bridge be discontinued during its session on April 13, 1887. On May 7, 1888, the court appointed D. K. Hood and John Hamilton as commissioners to locate and obtain land for right-of-way from John Carnahan and James McKown for a new public road (to join public roads located on both sides of Mill Creek). A 20 foot wide right-of-way was obtained without expense to the county and during this time and work resumed on the bridge. The abutments and superstructure were completed for costs of $1573.65 and $1044.00, respectively. On November 11, 1889, a contract for the bridge fills (i.e. earthwork) was awarded to Wesley Sayre for a cost of $59.75 and a contract for the woodwork at the bridge approaches was awarded to T.T. Hartley for $180.00. The bridge, which was completed some time during the months of December 1889 and January 1890, was 116 feet long and had a total cost of approximately $2,860.00. On April 9, 1924 the county clerk asked the State Road Commission to provide the court with an engineer who could make plans and specifications for abutments to be built along Sandy Creek at or near the property of William Weekly. Bids were advertised for dismantling the bridge at Carnahan’s Ford and rebuilding it on abutments to be constructed at the site near Weekly's. On July 2, 1924, C.R. Kent, R.R. Hardesty and E.R. Duke were awarded the contract to relocate the bridge for $1050. The site chosen is the location of the present bridge. Note that during the time work was stopped at the original bridge location, the court awarded a contract for $64 to George W. Staats to construct another smaller bridge on Carnahan’s property. This is sometimes confused for the Mill Creek Bridge which was moved to Sarvis Fork. The span received some repairs in 1979 and in 2000 a $598,233 renovation contract was awarded to R.C. Construction Company & Sons, Inc. of Cutler, Ohio, to replace the floor system with timber decking on steel stringers, install a stainless steel roof and replace wooden siding where necessary. Myrtle Auvil's "Covered Bridges of West Virginia" listed the construction date as 1892. The West Virginia Department of Transportation indicated that the bridge was built in 1890.

Sources:
Photograph in Todd Clark Collection
Auvil, Myrtle. Covered Bridges of West Virginia Past & Present, 1973, pages 44 & 45
Travis, Dale. 'West Virginia Covered Bridges List', updated to 23 Feb 2005, http://www.dalejtravis.com/cblist/cbwv.htm (12 Mar 2005)

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