The wooden Horton Mill Covered Bridge is located about five miles north of Oneonta and spans the Calvert Prong of the Little Warrior River.
Built in 1934, the 220-foot-long bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first covered bridge in the southeastern United States to be added. At 70 feet, it is the highest covered bridge above any U.S. waterway. The bridge is no longer open to vehicle traffic.
History
According to Wikipedia the original bridge was built in 1894 at the foot of Sand Mountain, about three-fourths mile downstream from the current location. It was named for a local business owned by Thurman M. Horton, who helped construct the bridge which allowed residents of Sand Mountain a better means of access to nearby Oneonta as well as to Horton's mill and a general store which were located along the east side of the Calvert Prong.
Construction of the current Horton Mill Covered Bridge began in 1934 over a deep gorge cut by the river and was led by Talmedge Horton, a family descendant of Thurman Horton. It took a 15-man crew 1-1/2 years to complete the project. The bridge was fully restored in 1974 by the Alabama Historical Commission and the Blount County Commission. It is one of three historic covered bridges remaining in Blount County.
Restoration of all three covered bridges began in late 2011 starting with the Swann Covered Bridge near Cleveland. Money for these projects primarily came from the federal National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program as well as transportation enhancement funds. The Horton Mill Covered Bridge was the last to be restored due to its high elevation above the river which made things more challenging. Wooden structural pieces were repaired or replaced as needed and new tin roofs were put on all three bridges in order to keep the weather off vital supporting timbers. Total restoration costs for the covered bridges was approximately $540,000. The difference was covered by county expenditures.
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