Lidy Walker Covered Bridge


The Lidy Walker Covered Bridge, formerly known as the Big Branch Covered Bridge, was a privately owned wood-&-metal combination style covered bridge which spanned the outlet to Lidy's Lake in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. It was located in the Berlin community at a pasture near the lake off Cullman County Road 1616 near U.S. Route 278, 6 miles east of the city of Cullman.
Built in 1926, the 50-foot bridge was a Town Lattice truss construction over a single span. Its WGCB number is 01-22-12, originally given 01-05-14 as the Big Branch Covered Bridge. The covered bridge was originally located in Blount County near Blountsville and moved to its current location in 1958. It collapsed in early August 2001, leaving the 270-foot Clarkson-Legg Covered Bridge the only remaining historic covered bridge in Cullman County.

History

The Lidy Walker Covered Bridge was first named the Big Branch Covered Bridge, built in 1926 over Big Branch of the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River on what is now Blount County Road 47 near the intersection of Hamm Road west of Blountsville. Mountain Grove Branch is the main tributary in the vicinity. This was about 13 miles southeast of the current location. The bridge was open to motor vehicle traffic until 1958 when a new road bypassed it. Later that year, Berlin resident and local contractor Winford I. "Lidy" Walker purchased the Big Branch Covered Bridge for $50.00 and moved it to his farm at Lidy's Lake in Cullman County which later became a recreation area. The covered bridge soon was renamed 'Lidy Walker' after him. Visitors were able to view the historic bridge on his property until it collapsed in 2001. Walker died at his home in 2012 at age 89.
Photos of the Lidy Walker Covered Bridge can be found on a covered bridge website created by Dale J. Travis.