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| Reynolds Bridge 1948. Photo by John Poteet. Back of photo says bridge was removed prior to January 1950. | Reynolds Bridge 1946 |
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| COUNTY | WORLD GUIDE # | CROSSES | TRUSS | SPANS | LENGTH | BUILT | GONE |
| Cecil | MD-07-10x | Little Northeast Creek | Queenpost | 1 | 29'6" | 1860 | about 1949 |
Reynolds Covered Bridge was located at the town of Blue Ball about 1/4 mile south of the intersection of Blue Ball and Telegraph Roads. It crossed Little Northeast Creek on Blue Ball Road near where Reynolds Mill was located and close to where Buckwheat Run becomes Little Northeast Creek. The property owner was Israel Reynolds.
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| Reynolds Bridge 1948. Photo by John Poteet. Back of photo says bridge was removed prior to January 1950. | Reynolds Bridge 1946 |
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| Reynolds Bridge December 19, 1940 | Reynolds Bridge December 19, 1940 |
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| Reynolds Bridge December 19, 1940 | Reynolds Bridge 1930s. |
From a 1948 issue of Covered Bridge Topics, N.D.Rand wrote:¹
Just south of Blue Ball are two little covered bridges crossing (Little) Northeast Creek. The first one down the road looks like an oversized dog house. It is Reynolds bridge, built in 1867, the smallest in the state. Its length is 354 inches. The stone walls at each end are longer than the bridge. With a good running start a car could almost jump the stream without the bridge. Where the side boards have been pulled off in the middle of the span, one can sit in the roadway and dangle his toes in the stream.
The Cecil Democrat carried an article for bridge contractors on June 9, 1860 asking for proposals to build Reynolds Bridge. The original proposal called for a bridge of the "canal plan, open." Reynolds Bridge specifications called for a 30' span, abutments to be 16' long and 4' thick at the base, and foundations to be 4' below the bed of the creek. The wing walls to be 24' long and 26' feet apart on the north side and 30' long and 25' apart on the south side. The guard walls to be of the same length as the wing walls, 2' high, 20 inches thick with fastenings for a roof to pitch outward. The woodwork on a canal plan, open and width of 15' from out to out. (Click here to see the detailed specifications for building Reynolds Bridge.) The original contract awarded to Jos. G. Johnson, was for $450 to build a bridge based on the specifications. But the bridge Johnson built was a Queenpost design, roofed and weatherboarded, and he was given $600 for his work.
Although Mr. Rand reported the bridge was built in 1867, the Cecil County Commissioners minutes of June 19, 1860 called for Reynolds Bridge to be completed by November 1860. An article in The Cecil Whig on December 15, 1860 reported on the completion or near completion of four bridges in Cecil County. Regarding Reynolds Bridge the article stated, "Mr. Johnson completed, recently, another bridge over a branch of the North East Creek, near the residence of Israel Reynolds, Esq., which cost $600.