The Weddle Bridge is a long wooden

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 ...

Sweet Home, Oregon Sweet Home is a city in Linn County, Oregon, United States, with a population of 9,828 at the 2020 census. Sweet Home is referred to as the 'Gateway to the Santiam Playground' due to its proximity to nearby lakes, rivers and the Cascade Mountain ...

, United States. The bridge originally spanned Thomas Creek near Scio but was replaced by a concrete bridge in 1980 and was scheduled to be destroyed in 1987. To save the bridge, local activists staged protests and persuaded former Oregon Senator

Mae Yih Mae Yih (born Chih Feng Dunn May 24, 1928) is a former member of both houses of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oregon. She is the first Chinese American to serve in a state senate in the United States. Early life and education Yih was b ...

to help save the bridge. The

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

soon approved the Oregon Covered Bridge Program, which helped pay for covered bridge rehabilitation projects statewide. The Weddle Bridge was the first to receive grants from the program. In 1989, using grant funds as well as funds from local residents, a Sweet Home group called the Cascade Forest Resource Center rebuilt the Weddle Bridge across Ames Creek in Sankey Park. Also assisting in the project were the Covered Bridge Society of Oregon, which raised additional funds, and the Jordan Bridge Company, which had built the Jordan Bridge in Stayton. The bridge was temporarily closed in 2005 after an engineering inspection determined that repairs were necessary. Proceeds from the Oregon Jamboree country music festival and donations of cash or building materials from several businesses and individuals made the repairs possible. The bridge has been used for public events such as fundraisers for breast-cancer detection and related services or for private events such as weddings. The original bridge over Thomas Creek was named for a farmer who lived nearby, but it was also known as the ''Devaney Bridge'' for another early resident. Similar in design to other covered bridges along Thomas Creek, the Weddle Bridge featured a

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 ...

, segmented portal arches, large side openings, and white

board-and-batten A batten is most commonly a strip of solid material, historically wood but can also be of plastic, metal, or fiberglass. Battens are variously used in construction, sailing, and other fields. In the lighting industry, battens refer to linea ...

siding.

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*{{Commons category-inline Covered bridges in Oregon Bridges in Linn County, Oregon Wooden bridges in Oregon Tourist attractions in Linn County, Oregon Former National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Road bridges in Oregon Pedestrian bridges in Oregon Former road bridges in the United States Sweet Home, Oregon 1937 establishments in Oregon Bridges completed in 1937

See also

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