The Fisher School Bridge is a

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

in Lincoln County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. The

Howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a brid ...

structure crosses a stream called Five Rivers near the rural community of

Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia * Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elec ...

in the

Central Oregon Coast Range The Central Oregon Coast Range is the middle section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic region, and located in the west-central portion of the state of Oregon, United States ro ...

. Previously closed to vehicles, the bridge was renovated on a new foundation adjacent to the original position. The bridge takes its name from Fisher Elementary School, now a private property just across Crab Creek Road. Alternatively, the bridge is sometimes called ''Five Rivers Bridge''. It is the only remaining covered bridge in the Five Rivers basin. Former covered bridges within of Fisher were the Buck Creek Bridge (1924) and the Cascade Creek Bridge (1927), both long. Conflicting county records give the date of construction as either 1919 or 1927, but the county's official date is 1919. Features include semi-elliptical portal arches, ribbon windows under the

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

, and flared side walls. The structure was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979. Scheduled for demolition in the 1970s after replacement by a concrete bridge, the Fisher School Bridge was preserved by the local community with the aid of Lincoln County. In 1998, an inspection showed that the bridge had become unsafe and would need to be demolished or renovated. A federal grant obtained in 2001 with help from the

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway De ...

paid for most of the renovation, including new floor beams, deck, siding, roof, and other components, as well as red paint. More recently, cedar shingles and siding were restored to match the historic materials.

References

External links

* * {{National Register of Historic Places Oregon Alsea River Bridges in Lincoln County, Oregon Pedestrian bridges in Oregon Wooden bridges in Oregon Bridges completed in 1919 Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Lincoln County, Oregon Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon 1919 establishments in Oregon Tourist attractions in Lincoln County, Oregon Historic American Engineering Record in Oregon

See also

References

External links