Roadscapes Wednesday: Blount County Covered Bridges

By Nathan Young on October 17, 2012

Let’s do something different for Roadscapes Wednesday this week! Alabama has a good number of covered bridges within the state. And three of them are located in Blount County Alabama. The Horton Mill Covered Bridge, The Swann Covered Bridge, and The Easley Covered Bridge were all built-in the 1920’s and 1930’s! And since 2009 the bridges have been closed to vehicles because of safety concerns. But thanks to grant funding from the state and the federal government the bridges have been undergoing restoration.

The bridges have been getting new beams, new decking and new roofs. And on Monday October 22nd two of the covered bridges will reopen to traffic! The Horton Mill Covered Bridge will open around 30-45 days later. This is no doubt great to see and it comes just in time for the Blount County Covered Bridge Festival being held on Saturday October 27th in downtown Oneonta Alabama. Here is a video from Thicket Magazine covering the festival in 2008.

These bridges were not just built to make the scenery look pretty. These bridges help local residents get to places without having to travel several miles out of their way. These three covered bridges are very historic and they are worth a trip to see them! The oldest bridge is The Easley Bridge and it was built-in 1927. It is off U.S. 231 just south of Rosa, AL.

The Swann Bridge which was built-in 1933, is 364-feet long and about 30 feet above the Locust Fork River. It is just north of Cleveland off Alabama 79.

The Horton Mill Bridge which is just north of Oneonta, AL, was built-in 1935 and is 70 feet above the water.

And yes the Anniston/Oxford area has its own covered bridge! The Coldwater Covered Bridge was built-in 1850! The bridge is located at Oxford Lake Park and is the oldest covered bridge in Alabama!

No doubt when the three covered bridges re-open in Blount County they will be visited and treasured for generations to come! If you live in or visit Alabama these bridges should be a must see stop! Enjoy these two videos below showing off these covered bridges!