page_title: Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge
section_title: Geography and setting
hierarchical_section_title: Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge / Geography and setting
caption_attribution_description: English: The Cacapon River at the Old Whipple Truss along West Virginia Route 259 in Capon Lake, West Virginia, United States.
context_page_description: The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge, formerly known as South Branch Bridge or Romney Bridge, is a historic Whipple truss bridge in Capon Lake, West Virginia. It is located off Carpers Pike and crosses the Cacapon River. The bridge formerly carried Capon Springs Road over the river, connecting Capon Springs and Capon Lake.
  The bridge's Whipple truss technology was developed by civil engineer Squire Whipple in 1847. J. W. Murphy further modified Whipple's truss design in 1859 by designing the first truss bridge with pinned eyebar connections. The design of the Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge incorporates Murphy's later modifications with double-intersections and horizontal chords, and is therefore considered a Whipple–Murphy truss bridge. The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge is West Virginia's oldest remaining example of a Whipple truss bridge and its oldest extant metal truss bridge.
  The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge was originally constructed in 1874 as part of the South Branch Bridge, a larger two-span Whipple truss bridge conveying the Northwestern Turnpike across the South Branch Potomac River near Romney.
context_section_description: The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge is located in a predominantly rural agricultural and forested area of southeastern Hampshire County within the Cacapon River valley. Baker Mountain, a forested narrow anticlinal mountain ridge, rises to the immediate west, and the western rolling foothills of the anticlinal Great North Mountain rise to the bridge's east. The confluence of Capon Springs Run with the Cacapon River lies just north (downstream) of the bridge. George Washington National Forest is located to the bridge's southeast, covering the forested area south of Capon Springs Road.
  The bridge is located along Carpers Pike (West Virginia Route 259) in the unincorporated community of Capon Lake, 2.05 miles (3.30 km) southwest of Yellow Spring and 6.77 miles (10.90 km) northeast of the town of Wardensville. The historic Capon Springs Resort and the unincorporated community of Capon Springs are located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of Capon Lake on Capon Springs Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 16). The bridge is located immediately north (downstream) of the intersection of Carpers Pike with Capon Springs Road, which is carried across the Cacapon River via the current Capon Lake Bridge, a Girder bridge built in 1991 to replace the Whipple truss bridge for conveying vehicle traffic. The property containing the Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge is less than 1 acre (0.40 ha) in size.
caption: Cacapon River, looking downstream from the bridge in 2009
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