| (5 miles west of Paris
on U.S. 24 and 4 miles south on Hwy. C in Monroe County)
This covered bridge is
the only surviving Missouri example of the Burr-arch truss
system. Built in 1871 to span the Elk Fork of the Salt River,
the bridge served travelers on the Paris-to-Fayette Road
through Monroe County for 99 years. Located near Paris, the
bridge is 120 feet long, 17 feet 6 inches wide, and has an
entrance 12 feet high--just high enough to admit a wagon load
of hay.
Covered truss bridges
are composed of a roadway, braced on each side by a wooden
truss and a roof. The purpose of the siding and roofing was to
shield the truss work from the weather to ensure a longer
lifetime, not to protect travelers from the weather.
Union Covered Bridge,
built in 1871 by Joseph C. Elliott, is one of four standing
covered bridges in Missouri and the only one left representing
the "Burr-arch" construction. Elliott chose the
Burr-arch truss design, using oak timbers, clapboard siding,
and a roof of wooden shingles. This structure was the first
covered bridge structure on the site; two earlier, uncovered
spans succumbed to deterioration.
Named after the nearby
Union Church, the bridge served travelers in Monroe County for
99 years and remains an important structure in the area's
history. It served not only as a bridge but also as a local
landmark, emergency shelter, and signboard. In 1968, the
bridge was partially restored using materials from the Mexico
Covered Bridge, which had been destroyed by floods in 1967.
Two years later, the bridge was closed to all but pedestrian
traffic after overweight trucks damaged its structural
timbers; that same year it was officially listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. In 1988, total
restoration of the bridge was undertaken in order to return it
to its original condition.
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