Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge
| Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge | |
| South Branch Bridge, Romney Bridge | |
| National Register of Historic Places | |
 Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge, looking northwest from its southeast end, in 2009
|
|
| Official name: Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge | |
| Named for: Capon Lake | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | West Virginia |
| County | Hampshire |
| Unincorporated area | Capon Lake |
| Road |
 US 50 (1874–1937) CR 16 (1938–1991)
|
| Crosses | South Branch Potomac River (1874–1937) Cacapon River (1938–present) |
| Location | Carpers Pike (WV 259) Capon Lake, West Virginia |
| - elevation | 876 ft (267 m) |
| - coordinates | 39°09′30″N 78°32′7″W / 39.15833°N 78.53528°WCoordinates: 39°09′30″N 78°32′7″W / 39.15833°N 78.53528°W |
| Length | 176 ft (54 m) |
| Width | 20 ft (6.1 m) |
| Clearance | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Builder | T. B. White and Sons |
| Design | Whipple truss bridge |
| Material | Wrought iron |
| Built | 1874 |
| - Rebuilt | 1938 |
| - Restored | 1991 |
| - Added to NRHP | December 15, 2011 |
| Owned and Maintained by | West Virginia Division of Highways, District 5 |
| NRHP # | 11000929 |
The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge (locally /keɪpən/), formerly known as South Branch Bridge or Romney Bridge, is a historic Whipple truss bridge in Capon Lake, West Virginia. It is located off Carpers Pike (West Virginia Route 259) and crosses the Cacapon River. The bridge formerly carried Capon Springs Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 16) over the river, connecting Capon Springs and Capon Lake.
The bridge's Whipple truss technology was developed by civil engineer Squire Whipple in 1847. J. W. Murphy further modified Whipple's truss design in 1859 by designing the first truss bridge with pinned eyebar connections. The design of the Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge incorporates Murphy's later modifications with double-intersections and horizontal chords, and is therefore considered a Whipple–Murphy truss bridge. The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge is West Virginia's oldest remaining example of a Whipple truss bridge and its oldest extant metal truss bridge.
The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge was originally constructed in 1874 as part of the South Branch Bridge (or alternatively, the Romney Bridge), a larger two-span Whipple truss bridge conveying the Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50) across the South Branch Potomac River near Romney. The larger Whipple truss bridge replaced an 1838 wooden covered bridge that was destroyed during the American Civil War. In 1874, T. B. White and Sons were charged with the construction of a Whipple truss bridge over the South Branch; that bridge served travelers along the Northwestern Turnpike for 63 years until a new bridge was constructed in 1937.
...
Wikipedia