It’s over Smith River in Patrick County near Woolwine and was built in 1914.  It is owned by the Patrick County Historical Society and maintained by Patrick County.  It is closed to traffic but open to the public.

            It was built to serve Jack’s Creek Primitive Baptist Church and was named for the church.  Jack’s Creek is about one-half mile north and flows into the Smith River.

            This bridge was designed by Walter G. Weaver; however, the builder was Charlie Vaughn, the low bidder who hailed from nearby Buffalo Ridge.  A man named Peter Brammer got the job of covering the bridge because he was the only person in the community who had the tools required to crimp the tin roofing used in those days.

            The bridge was bypassed in 1932 and located just a few feet upstream from the covered bridge.  Obviously, it was abandoned by the state when the new structure was built.  In 1970 the covered bridge was in very poor condition and being used as a barn.  The Ruritan Club maintained the bridge until it was taken over by the Patrick County Board of Supervisors in 1974.  The county continues to maintain it.

            There are several things unusual about this bridge.  None of the others except Bob White Covered Bridge have siding of vertical board-and-board, a sturdier version of board-and-batten, with a horizontal water deflector extending the full length of the structure about eight inches from the bottom to protect the bottom edges of the siding and the bottom of the floor system.

            Second, this bridge is a small prototype of Bob White.  Both have diagonal sheathing on the inside covering the trusses making the trusses invisible, making it difficult to inspect and determine necessary repairs.

            This is a basic little bridge of functional design and construction with no frills or extras, sometimes called the “no nonsense bridge”.  It is respectfully referred to as the “elder” Woolwine Covered Bridge.

            It was recorded with the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.