Located on a quiet dirt road just SE of Lake Creek is Lost Creek Covered Bridge, the shortest covered bridge in Oregon and rumored to be the oldest covered bridge in Oregon. I located a PDF document (link below) that reads:
The Lost Creek Bridge, at 39 feet, is the shortest of all Oregon covered bridges. Since 1979, the structure has been closed to traffic with a concrete span handling the few vehicles each day.
Many Jackson County residents, including Shirley Stone, daughter of pioneer John Walch, claim the Lost Creek Bridge to have been built as early as 1878-1881. If authenticated, this would make it Oregon's oldest standing covered bridge.
Johnny Miller, the builder of the Lost Creek Bridge, also roofed the nearby span at Lake Creek in the 1880s, thus lending credence to a sign nailed on the bridge: LOST CREEK BRIDGE, BUILT ABOUT 1881. The span may have been partially or totally rebuilt in 1919, hence the official construction date in that year.
Features of the bridge include the usual county Queenpost design, a shingle roof and flying buttress braces. The rough wooden flooring consists of diagonal planking, and hand hewn truss members provide structural stability. A new roof was installed by local residents in 1985. Portal boards were added in 1986, restoring the look of the span in 1920 before accommodations were made for log truck traffic.
The Walch Memorial Wayside Park abuts the bridge site. Descendants of John and Marie Newsome Walch built and maintain the park, which includes picnic tables, a bandstand, cooking areas, an early 1900s outhouse, and manicured flower gardens.
The bridge was nearly lost in the 1964 Christmas flood. As swirling waters and heavy debris lashed at its piers, residents and concerned bridge enthusiasts prayed during the night that the bridge would be saved. According to a local newspaper, the skies opened and the water receded as morning came. The journalist questioned, "Was the bridge
saved by prayer?"
(Reference: Roofs Over Rivers, by Bill and Nick Cockrell)
Features of the bridge include Queenpost trusses, a shingle roof and flying buttresses. The wooden flooring has diagonal planking.
The roof was replaced in 1985. In 1986 portal boards were added which restored the look of the span from changes originally made in 1920 to accommodate log truck traffic.
There is a wayside park known as the 'Walsh Memorial Wayside' next to this bridge and a letter hanging above the guest book reads:
Walch Memorial Wayside
John W. Walsh was born Dec. 20, 1884, in Wellen, near Antelope. He was one of 14 children born to Jacob and Katherine Walch pioneer settlers of the Antelope Creek area near Eagle Point. In 1913 he moved to lake Creek and purchased a 1600-acre cattle ranch. On Dec. 19, 1915 he married the former Ida Marie Newtrom. Together they worked and farmed the same cattle ranch for 65 years. This park is located on a portion of the original ranch. John was honored as a lifetime member of the Oregon Cattleman's Association. Much of his time was donated to the U.S. government in experimental reseeding programs of rangeland. John was the first Jackson County rancher to raise both Angus and Galloway cattle. After several years he successfully bred an Angus-Galloway cross. John worked the ranch to just shortly before his death in 1978. Up at dawn and not back in the house until dark was not an unusual work day. John was an avid outdoorsman and passed down his love of nature and the outdoors to his children and grandchildren. Marie often worked alongside John but will always be remembered for her ability to convert basic food to heavenly ambrosia on her wood fired cook stove. Her skill in the kitchen was well known and rarely was dinner served without extra places set at the table for friends and neighbors that just happened to show up.
This park exists to honor this pioneer couple and to provide a place for friends and neighbors to pause, reflect and remember a simpler time when life and success was gauged by hard work, love and respect. A time when a man's word was his bond, Sunday was for worship, and marriage was a lifelong commitment. It remembers a time when the family farm defined America and produced what many consider the "Greatest Generation" -- the generation that did more with less, looked back only to move forward and made due with what they had when they could not do better.
This park is owned and maintained by the Walch family. We receive no government funding so if you would like to make a donation to help maintain and improve this park we have a donation box located just inside the gate. For questions or addition information you may contact...
Richard E Walch - 541-772-6255
engmgr@medfab.com
or
Russell Walch - 541-772-8832
Enjoy your stay and come again....