Honey Run Covered Bridge

Honey Run Covered Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
A photo from the Historic American Engineering Record
Location	Butte County, California
Nearest city	Chico, California
Coordinates	39°43′43″N 121°42′13″W
Built	1886
Architect	American Bridge and Building Company of San Francisco
Demolished	2018
Restored	Planned for 2022
Restored by	Honey Run Covered Bridge Association (HRCBA)
NRHP reference No.	88000920
Added to NRHP	June 23, 1988

The Honey Run Covered Bridge was a wooden covered bridge spanning Butte Creek in Butte County, California, United States. Built in 1886 by the American Bridge and Building Company of San Francisco, the bridge was located on Honey Run Road at Centerville Road, midway between Chico and Paradise.

The bridge was a rare example of a three-span Pratt truss covered bridge and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 23, 1988. It was the last of its kind in the United States until it was destroyed in the Camp Fire on November 8, 2018.

Efforts to restore the bridge have been led by the Honey Run Covered Bridge Association (HRCBA), with plans for reconstruction beginning in 2022.

History

Built in 1886 and accepted as completed by the Butte County Board of Supervisors on January 3, 1887, the Honey Run Bridge (originally known as Carr Hill Bridge) was constructed by the American Bridge and Building Company of San Francisco. George Miller was appointed Superintendent of Construction by Butte County to oversee the project.

The three-span wooden bridge was initially built uncovered. This is evident from the timber trusses of the two original remaining spans, which were later covered with sheet metal on three sides. The bridge was fully covered in 1901 to protect its structure.

Crossing Butte Creek, the Honey Run Bridge was the only surviving example of a three-span timber Pratt-type covered bridge in the United States. Its historical significance earned it a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

The bridge remained open to vehicular traffic until 1965, when a truck crashed into the eastern span, causing significant damage that rendered it virtually impassable. A new steel bridge was subsequently built upstream to accommodate vehicles.

After the accident, the Honey Run Bridge was converted into a pedestrian footbridge and preserved within Honey Run Covered Bridge County Park. Local residents raised funds to rebuild the eastern span from its ruins, and the bridge re-opened in 1972.

The bridge was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 8, 2018.

There is hope for reconstruction using documentation from the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER).

Gallery

• 
  The bridge as seen fourteen months prior to being destroyed by the Camp Fire
• 
  View of the construction site during the rebuild in July 2024
• 
  View of the construction site during the rebuild in August 2024
• 
  View of the construction site during the rebuild in December 2024
• 
  View of the construction site shortly before completion of the project, end of December 2024

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in California
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Butte County, California

External links

• Honey Run Covered Bridge
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CA-312, "Honey Run Bridge, Spanning Butte Creek, bypassed section of Honey Run Road (originally Carr Hill Road), Paradise vicinity, Butte County, CA", 18 photos, 2 color transparencies, 9 measured drawings, 15 data pages, 2 photo caption pages