Home Existing Covered Bridges Bygone Covered Bridges Romantic Shelters About Covered Bridges Trusses News Links

Watters Mill Covered Bridge

COUNTY WORLD GUIDE # CROSSES TRUSS SPANS LENGTH BUILT GONE
Harford MD-12-35x Winters Run Unk Unk Unk 1838-39 1910
The Maryland Session Laws of 1830, Chapter 123 provided "An Act empowering the Commissioners of Harford County to build a bridge over Winter's Run in said County, at or near the place where the Road leading from Gunpowder Neck to Belle-Air crosses said Run." The Act allowed $700 for the bridge which was a substantial amount of money for bridge building in that time period. It is likely the bridge was intended to be a wooden covered one. The Act also called for the building of the bridge to be advertised in local papers for three successive weeks for the purpose of receiving proposals from contractors and for "building the same in a good and substantial manner."
The bridge was likely not built for in 1837 another Session Law, Chapter 249 provided "A supplement to an act, entitled, an act empowering the Commissioners of Harford county, to [build a] Bridge over Winter's Run in said county, at or near the place where the road leading from Gunpowder Neck to Belle Air crosses said run, passed at December session, eighteen hundred and thirty." This act was passed on March 24, 1838.
A Commissioner's Expenditure Report published in late 1839 declared $350 was spent to build a "Bridge over Winter's Run, near Watters Mill, agreeable to Act of Assembly, 1837, chap 249."¹
Most likely, the first bridge at this location was lost during one of the many floods in Harford County during the mid to late 1800s. However, evidence that a covered bridge at Watters Mill (later Magnolia Mills) was still standing is based on an article from the Baltimore Sun, August 31, 1910:

New Bridge At Van Bibber

Havre de Grace, Aug 30.--The County Commissioners of Harford County are erecting a steel bridge over Winter's Run, on the Edgewood Road, near Van Bibber, the concrete piers being well under way and when completed will be a fine one. This new structure will replace the old wood-covered bridge which has been in such a shackled condition for some time.
Watters Mill Covered Bridge
Red notations identify surroundings at Watters Mill Covered Bridge area. Original map is from 1865 Simon J. Martenet.

Back to Bygone Covered Bridges

Maryland Covered Bridges
Email me: mdcoveredbridges@comcast.net