Stovall Mill Covered Bridge

A
sad
little
bridge
Stovall Mill Covered Bridge is indeed sad looking. Richard R, the expert on covered bridges, went over all the specifics and history in his review so I won’t be redundant. It is indeed small and certainly does look well over a hundred years.
Perhaps the most depressing thing about the bridge is all the idiotic graffiti than idiotic knuckleheads covered it with. Too bad they can’t stick to highway bridges or sides of railroad cars. To cover a literally irreplaceable part of history is just so pathetic and sad.
The bridge is still strong enough so you can walk over it and check out the construction and the view of the river is nice. Perhaps the bridge’s most interesting feature is that it’s so small. Hopefully the state will get around to fixing it up and restoring it to original condition. And hopefully the knuckleheads with spray paint will stay away from it.

Stovall Mill is the second smallest known covered bridge in the State of Georgia. I’ve been on a quest to visit all of the covered bridges remaining in our state and I am happy to check another one off my list.
Built in 1895, this bridge has seen better days. It is currently riddled with graffiti and seems to be in poor condition. It is just shy of 37 feet long and spans Chickamauga Creek. The smallest covered bridge is actually Blind Susie in Lula, GA (approx. 36 miles away).
During my quest I have discovered several more than the 15 covered bridges I found listed on Wikipedia. My top 5 favorites-​to-​date are:
– Red Oak Creek Bridge —

– Stone Mountain Covered Bridge —
– George L. Smith State Park Covered Bridge —

– Old Roswell Mill Park Covered Bridge —
– Watson Mill Covered Bridge —

The Historic Marker reads: Fred Dover constructed a bridge and nearby grist, saw and shingle mill complex here in the late 1800’s. The original bridge washed away in the early 1890’s and Will Pardue replaced it in 1895 with the present 38-​foot structure. Dover sold the operation to Fred Stovall, Sr. in 1917. The mill and dam washed away in 1964. Constructed as a modification of the queen post truss design, the bridge’s trusses have two vertical posts (with iron rods) separated by a horizontal crosspiece. The bridge was featured in the 1951 movie ‘I’d Climb the Highest Mountain’ starring Susan Heyward.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Not what you would hope to see when looking for historic treasures, but at least it still stands. So many of the covered bridges have been destroyed by nature or vandals and lost forever. This entire area has a bunch of historic relics, like the Indian mounds nearby. So come and make a day of it exploring.