The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge was built in 1874 to replace a wooden-covered bridge. The former bridge had been destroyed during the Civil War by Confederate soldiers.
The bridge was built by T.B. White and Sons using the Whipple truss, which was created by Squire Whipple and patented in 1847. It was a stronger version of the Pratt truss and was known as the “Double-intersection Pratt” due to the fact that the diagonal tension members crossed two panels as opposed to the one used in the Pratt design. It typically had a trapezoidal look. Because it was stronger and firmer than the original design, it was embraced by the railroads.
The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge is West Virginia’s oldest extant metal truss. It stopped being used in 1991 after the construction of a new bridge. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
Historical Marker Inscription
First erected in 1874 as a two span bridge on US Route 50 near Romney, one span was moved here in 1938 and re-erected on a new foundation. the 17′ wide by 176′ long bridge is a Whipple-Murphy Truss. The state’s oldest extant metal truss, the bridge is one of only a few of its type in WV. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
Location
10001-10099 Carpers Pike, Yellow Spring, West Virginia 26865 United States
39° 9′ 32.150″ N, 78° 32′ 5.820″ W
Historical Markers of the World 