Old bridges: Train bridges. Footbridges. Vehicle bridges. Steel bridges. Iron bridges. Wood bridges. Stone bridges. There’s something fascinating about them, don’t you think? Whether still in active use, aging out of operation, or completely abandoned, they all have stories to tell. They all represent years of memories, generations of lives traveling through time. And if you let them, they’ll capture your imagination, every one.
In West Virginia, historic bridges are in no short supply. That's because the Mountain State has no shortage of roads, rivers, or railroads, and thus no shortage of a need for bridges, even all the way back decades and decades ago.
You've probably heard of some of them: the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. The Parkersburg Railroad Bridge. But there are others that are less well known, like a small, old wooden slat and steel bridge across Paint Creek, just upstream from Paint Creek Falls in West Virginia.
It was built for its proximity to the Westerly mines, but it sure didn't hurt that this just so happens to be a beautiful stretch of Paint Creek! Did the children of the miners play in the pools at the base of Paint Creek Falls?
Did the miners or their families pick Autumn Olives from the roadside for a tasty, healthy snack? Who were these people who crossed this bridge to reach home? What were their stories?
These days, all that remains of Westerly/Keeferton are some old ruins in the creek, and a sign mottled with bullet holes, so many of these questions are left unanswered... except by the imagination.
But the bridge is steel here, and it can still be crossed to reach an old dirt road that winds back into the forest, past a primitive campsite or two on beyond around a bend to who knows where.
Do you know more than we do about the mining community of Keeferton, or this old bridge over Paint Creek in West Virginia? Please share your stories! We’d love to fill in some of these gaps in our imagination. For more on the area, read up on Paint Creek Falls and The Corner Grill.
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