Rating:
3 votes

GN - Harpole Covered Bridge 47-38-01

Whitman County, Washington

Photos 

Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #195958

Map 

Facts 

Overview
Howe through truss covered railroad bridge, over Palouse River
Location
Whitman County, Washington
Status
Destroyed by fire
History
Replaced prior bridge 1922, Truss housed 1928, Converted to vehicle usage 1967; Burned in wildfires Sept. 7, 2020
Railroads
- Great Northern Railway (GN)
- Interurban
- Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad (S&IE)
Design
Howe timber through truss railroad bridge, covered, with separately housed trusses, located on a curve, with timber trestle approach over floodplain.
Dimensions
Span length: 150.0 ft.
Total length: 150.0 ft.
Also called
47-38-01
GN - Curtis Lowe Bridge
Manning Bridge
GN - Palouse River Bridge
GN - Colfax Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+46.92832, -117.41535   (decimal degrees)
46°55'42" N, 117°24'55" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
11/468380/5197282 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Diamond
Inventory numbers
WGCB 47-38-01 (World Guide to Covered Bridges number)
BH 48488 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Built 1922 (743)
Built during 1920s (10,256)
Covered (1,953)
Covered Railroad Bridge (66)
Destroyed by fire (235)
Great Northern Railway (396)
HAER documented (1,122)
Howe through truss (514)
Howe truss (642)
Interurban (998)
Lost (28,464)
Lost 2020 (155)
 Lost during 2020s (284)
Owned by federal government (1,287)
Palouse River (22)
Railroad (16,456)
Span length 125-175 feet (4,418)
Spokane & Inland Empire Railroad (4)
Through truss (16,775)
Total length 125-175 feet (6,185)
Truss (35,451)
Washington (1,380)
Whitman County, Washington (63)

Update Log 

  • September 6, 2021: New photo from Patrick Gurwell
  • July 26, 2021: New photo from John Bernhisel
  • September 8, 2020: Updated by John Marvig: Bridge has been destroyed in wildfires
  • March 17, 2020: New photo from Patrick Gurwell
  • April 16, 2018: New photos from Richard Doody
  • March 18, 2018: Updated by John C Stutz: Added general and detail photos from 1972.
  • February 7, 2014: Updated by Luke Harden: Added category "Railroad"
  • April 6, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Added category "HAER documented"
  • March 24, 2011: Added by Michael Goff

Sources 

  • Mike Goff - michael [dot] goff [at] hotmail [dot] com
  • HAER WA-133 - Harpole Bridge
  • John C Stutz
  • Richard Doody
  • Patrick Gurwell - pgurwell [at] gmail [dot] com
  • John Marvig - marvigj27 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • John Bernhisel - Johnmbernhisel [at] gmail [dot] com
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Comments 

GN - Harpole Covered Bridge 47-38-01
Posted February 3, 2022, by John Stutz (j)

Field notes

Attachment #1 (image/tiff; 1,503,950 bytes)

GN - Harpole Covered Bridge 47-38-01
Posted July 26, 2021, by John M. Bernhisel (jbernhisel [at] gmail [dot] com)

The bridge was destroyed by a fire caused by a downed power line.

https://mynorthwest.com/2149915/history-in-flames-whitman-co...

GN - Harpole Covered Bridge 47-38-01
Posted September 9, 2020, by Patrick Gurwell (pgurwell [at] gmail [dot] com)

That's too bad. That is a great bridge in a great setting.

GN - Harpole Covered Bridge 47-38-01
Posted September 8, 2020, by Alexander D. Mitchell IV

https://pullmanradio.com/historic-manning-covered-bridge-des...

GN - Harpole Covered Bridge 47-38-01
Posted September 8, 2020, by John Marvig

I’m seeing pictures that this bridge burned in wildfires yesterday.