Leatherwood Ford Bridge
The Leatherwood Ford Bridge is a single-lane, wooden, low water bridge over the Big South Fork River at Leatherwood Ford, in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. Although it’s no longer in use today, it was once the only way for vehicles to cross the river as they traveled the road between Black Oak on the east side of the river gorge and White Oak on the west side of the gorge.
See Also: Scott County’s Historic Places
Construction
The bridge dates back to 1938, when it was built as part of the Works Progress Administration, created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt three years earlier as part of the New Deal to help pull the United States out of the Great Depression.
Prior to 1938, Leatherwood Ford was an unbridged river crossing that was unsuitable for automobiles and could only be used by horse-and-wagon traffic during periods of low water flow. The Leatherwood Ford Road followed an old Indian trail across the Big South Fork River gorge.
End of use
Leatherwood Ford Bridge was used by vehicular traffic crossing the gorge until 1982, when a higher, two-lane, concrete bridge was constructed. Present-day S.R. 297 was constructed after Congress established the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area in 1972. In The new bridge opened on the highway in 1982. In 1985, the highway was paved through the gorge.
Leatherwood Ford Bridge continued to be used by foot traffic to access the John Muir Trail on the west side of the river until the mid 2010s, when it was damaged by flooding and closed. The bridge has continued to deteriorate since that time.
Big South Fork NRRA Superintendent Niki S. Nicholas said in 2021 that special funding is needed from the federal government to repair the bridge, but has not been received. “Compared to essential infrastructure needs is not a super high priority in the funding world,” she said, adding that priority is given to things like leaking roofs, toilets and other infrastructure projects.
Historic designation
The Tennessee State Historic Preservation Office wrote in September 1981: “The minimum ‘go-with-the-flow design approach embodied in the ‘Low Water’ bridge provides an interesting contrast to the conventional design. Although there have been replacements of portions of the bridge due to wash out, it retains the basic configuration and function and is eligible (for historic listing) under Criterion 60.6c.”
Although the bridge was deemed eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, it never was.
A Big South Fork NRRA Historic Resource Study, completed by the National Park Service in 2016, noted: “The historically significant low water bridge at Leatherwood Ford is constantly being overwashed by flood waters. Many portions of the bridge have been rebuilt over the years, but the historic piers have been maintained. Protection of historic fabric is a high propriety for the park and repairs are being planned for the non-historic components. The Tennessee SHPO is being consulted for all proposed work.”
The study added: “Although much of the planking is not original, the bridge retains integrity of design, location, association, feelings and setting and was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 in the area of Engineering.”