Humpback Bridge, Virginia’s oldest standing covered bridge, is part of a wayside on Route 60, Alleghany County just west of Covington. It was built in 1857 as part of the James River & Kanawha Turnpike (JR&KT). It succeeds three other bridges at the site. Humpback Bridge stretches over Dunlap Creek, which is a tributary of the Jackson River that joins the Cowpasture River near Iron Gate to form the James River. The first structure was built in the 1820s and was washed away be a flood on May 12, 1837. The second bridge fell victim to the flood of July 13, 1842 and the third bridge, as the annual report of the JR&KT company put it, simply “gave way” in 1856.

This 100-foot-long, single-span structure is four feet higher at its center than it is at either end, thus the name, “Humpback.” Traffic across the bridge ceased in 1929, when it was replaced with a ‘modern’ steel truss bridge. It stood derelict, and even was used by a nearby farmer to store hay, until 1954. That year, thanks to the fund-raising efforts of the Business Professional Women’s Club of Covington and the Covington Chamber of Commerce, it was restored and preserved as part of Alleghany County’s history.

Directions

Humpback Bridge can be reached from I64 by taking Exit #10 to Route 60 and traveling one-half mile east or by taking Route 60 West from Covington.

For more information, contact:

Office of Public Affairs
Virginia Department of Transportation
1401 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2802

Robertson (27 May 1887 – 1 November 1971) also was a lawyer and a Democrat who represented Virginia in both the U.S. House and Senate. According to Wikipedia, Robertson was a conservative Democrat who resisted integration. This attitude did not bode well for the 1966 Democratic primary, where Senator William B. Spong, Jr. defeated Robertson in one of the biggest upsets in Virginia political history.

But, probably the best known production by Senator Robertson is his son, televangelist Marion Gordon “Pat” Robertson. Pat Robertson also aspired to political ambitions, but his bid as the Republican Party’s nominee in the 1988 presidential election failed. As a result of his seeking political office, he no longer serves in an official role for any church. This does not stop him from presenting a public voice for conservative Christianity.

Approximately 75 acres of this agency land are leased to Rockbridge County to operate a park and recreation facility around the lake. The lake is a crystal clear lake with an average depth of 18 feet. The lake’s clarity poses some challenges for fishermen. Trophy largemouth bass are frequently seen cruising the shallows in spring and fall, but warily swim off when approached by anglers. Old roadbeds, house foundations, and springs are located on the lake’s bottom, so anglers who have done their homework will easily locate fish.

Anglers can obtain a five day state or county license. No gasoline motors or swimming is allowed, although they do maintain a swimming pool and bath house on the grounds. The recreation area also holds a tennis court, volley ball, badminton, and softball field, along with two “tot lot” playfields. For hunters, access is by the west gate during legal hunting hours for Fall Big Game and Spring Gobbler Season.

Additionally, this area is known for its birding opportunities. You can find a variety of water fowl here, including great blue and green herons and the occasional belted kingfisher during summer months. The banks of the lack are great to search for butterflies, and powdered dancers abound. Learn more about the birding opportunities at Virginia Game and Inland Fisheries.

Both trailer/RV and tent camping are available. Camping fees include water and electricity hook-ups. Regular season reservations are accepted with a deposit, usually starting 1 April of each year. Currently, 53 campsites are in operation, and sites are available to accommodate most all sizes recreational vehicles or tents (some are pull-through). All sites maintain a fire ring, picnic table, water, and electricity.

To get to the lake from Lexington, take State Route 251 to Collierstown and Rt. 770 to the lake entrance. Visit the Lake A. Willis Robertson site to learn more.

Workers building the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal rebelled because of persistent poor working conditions and low pay. The canal project, initially designed by George Washington, was intended to ease transportation of goods from the Chesapeake Bay to the Ohio River Valley. Barges navigating the Potomac River, the main conduit between the Chesapeake and inland waterways, were forced to contend with challenging rapids and tributaries, which hindered American commerce.

As early as 1772, George Washington received a charter from the colony of Virginia to survey alternate routes from the Potomac, and he envisioned a canal that would bypass the river’s rapids and falls. Washington’s plan included building locks that raised barges at increases in elevation. Interrupted by the American Revolution, Washington returned to the project after the war and organized the Patowmack Company in 1785. The Patowmack Company built several canals along the Maryland and Virginia shorelines – engineers later deemed the lock systems at Little Falls, Maryland, and Great Falls, Virginia, innovative in concept and construction. Washington sometimes even supervised the harrowing, dangerous work himself, which entailed the removal of earth and boulders by manual labor.

After Washington’s death, the Patowmack Company folded. However, in 1823, legislators, business leaders and engineers held a convention in the capital to revive and expand the canal project. With plans to achieve a safe inland waterway route to the Ohio River, the newly chartered Chesapeake and Ohio Canal company began construction in 1828. President John Quincy Adams ceremoniously broke ground on what became an enterprise fraught with financial difficulties and frequent labor stoppages. The incredibly rocky ground proved nearly impossible to excavate and years of slow progress sent costs soaring. In addition, property owners fought the canal’s passage through their land, exacerbating the situation.

Construction teams consisted primarily of Irish, German, Dutch and black workers who, with primitive tools, were forced to work long hours for low wages in dangerous conditions. Fed up, the workers rioted on January 29, but were quickly put down by federal troops. The move set a dangerous precedent for future labor-management relations. When labor uprisings increased toward and into the turn of the century, business leaders were confident in the knowledge that they could turn to local, state or federal government leaders to head off labor unrest. Although work resumed on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the project was finally abandoned in 1850, with the farthest reach of the canal ending at Cumberland, Maryland.