Warren Factory Covered Bridge

Warren Factory Covered Bridge crossed the Great Falls of the Gunpowder providing access to and from the Warren Cotton Mills. The flood of 1895 demolished the bridge and it was replaced by a steel bridge. The steel bridge was then destroyed in late 1921 or early 1922 and replaced with a much longer span to accommodate the expansion of the Loch Raven Reservoir.

"This covered wooden bridge at the Warren Factory was destroyed in an 1895 flood. Source: Francis Roberts, photographer unknown, before 1895. Permission granted by Baltimore County Public Library.	"The shell of the five-story Warren Factory building and the iron bridge spanning the Gunpowder River are seen in this photo." Source: Francis Taylor Spilker, photographer unknown, 1922-1923. Permission granted by Baltimore County Public Library.

In 1920, Warren was one of the most thriving towns in Baltimore County. Two years later it had disappeared. That's because it was 45 feet beneath the water---water which had slowly covered it when the 52 foot high addition to Loch Raven Dam, located a few miles to the south, was completed. Warren was a mill town. It was owned by the Summerfield Baldwins, whose Warren Manufacturing Company generated the big cotton-duck mill.

The cotton-duct mill, and a grist mill owned by the family, plus a similar business called Stablers Grist Mill, supported most of the town's 900 residents.

The City of Baltimore, realizing that its water supply would need to be increased, decided to enlarge Loch Raven Dam from 188 to 240 feet. Warren and Phoenix, plus the villages of Sweetair and Bosley, were doomed. Early in 1922, the Baldwins sold Warren and Phoenix to the city for $1,000,000.¹

On February 15, 1922, the Warren Cotton Mill spun its last thread.²

By the end of June 1922 everything in the town was gone.³

Also see Phoenix Mills and Paper Mill Covered Bridges.

¹ Baltimore Sun Magazine; September 9, 1951, Wilton Howard.

² Towson Times; September 7, 1988, Steve Kelly.

³ Style Magazine; January-February 2008, Ann Eichler Kolakowski.