Coldwater Covered Bridge, Covered bridge in Oxford, Calhoun County, Alabama, US
The Coldwater Covered Bridge is a 63-foot wooden covered bridge at Oxford Lake Park in Oxford, Calhoun County, Alabama, spanning the outflow from Oxford Lake. It has a single span built with a Multiple King-post truss combined with Town Lattice, and a shingled roof replaced the original tin one.
The Coldwater Covered Bridge was built around 1850 by a former slave, though some sources date it to 1839. It originally stood over Coldwater Creek near the Hughes Mill sawmill, about 13 km west of its present site. Partly burned on 11 August 1920, it was repaired, replaced by a concrete bridge in 1974, restored and moved to Oxford Lake Park in 1990, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 11 April 1973.
The bridge is known as the Hughes Mill Covered Bridge after Coldwater Mill, a saw and lumber mill owned by Peter N. Hughes and Humphrey Hughes that stood nearby at its original site over Coldwater Creek. It was moved to Oxford Lake Park in 1990 and is maintained by the City of Oxford.
The bridge sits within a park and can be reached on foot, with walking paths nearby. It is open year-round, though spring and fall tend to offer the most comfortable conditions for a visit.
The bridge's World Guide to Covered Bridges number is 01–08–01, and it is the oldest surviving covered bridge in Alabama. It was built by a former slave around 1850, though some sources date it to 1839.
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