The Locust Creek Covered Bridge is the longest of Missouri's four survivors

Locust Creek Covered Bridge is one of those local places where the small object tells a much bigger story. Missouri State Parks says the bridge was built in 1868 by Bishop and Eaton. It was originally known as the Linn County Bridge, and at 151 feet it is the longest of Missouri’s four surviving covered bridges.

The road story is almost as good as the bridge story. State Parks says the bridge ran parallel to the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad and sat on the main east-west road in northern Missouri. It later became part of Route 8, described by State Parks as America’s first transcontinental road. Then U.S. Highway 36 replaced that route in 1930, and the bridge lost its old highway job.

Even the creek changed. After World War II, most of Locust Creek’s channel was straightened, leaving the bridge over a dry creek bed. Over time, floodwater deposited soil below it, and the bridge ended up resting on the ground. State Parks says the bridge was raised 6 feet in 1991 to make it look like a bridge again and to protect the floor from wet ground.

The current visitor detail matters. Missouri State Parks says Locust Creek Covered Bridge has been moved to the day-use area within Pershing State Park, and that the bridge remains closed while approaches are being built. So this is a great Linn County story, but it is also a check-before-you-go place.