Philippi bridge, Philippi

The Philippi Covered Bridge, on the Tygart Valley River, is the main local landmark and historical icon of Philippi, West Virginia, USA.
The celebrated bridge was commissioned by the General Assembly of Virginia and constructed in 1852 by Lemuel Chenoweth, a well-known Appalachian bridge builder, to provide a link on an important segment of the vital Beverly-Fairmont Turnpike between Beverly (Chenoweth's hometown) and Fairmont. The bridge has strong associations with the American Civil War, especially the Battle of Philippi (1861).
The Philippi Covered Bridge is the oldest and longest covered bridge in West Virginia and one of only two remaining in Barbour County. It is also the only covered bridge serving the US Federal Highway system (U.S. Route 250). It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Bidding, design and constructionThe circumstances of the bidding on the contract for the bridges in western Virginia are given by Hu Maxwell: