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Boyer's Mill Covered Bridge

COUNTY WORLD GUIDE # CROSSES TRUSS SPANS LENGTH BUILT GONE
Frederick MD-10-19x Linganore Creek Unk Unk approx 100' c1860 1930
A series of newspaper articles suggest there may have been two covered bridges at this site. If so, the first was built around the Civil War period but was lost in the 1903 flood. The bridge was rebuilt but fell into disrepair in 1930 and was replaced with a concrete bridge. We are still researching the locations of Calvin Dofler's Mills, Boyers Mill and Linganore Hills Inn, all mentioned in articles of 1903 or 1930.
The first evidence of a covered bridge over Linganore Creek are from 1903 articles in The News, Frederick, MD, about the floods along the Linganore Creek. The articles do not specifically mention Boyers Mill. On June 29th:
FLOOD: Linganore Creek converted into a great torrent, sweeps away bridges and buildings. A tremendous rainfall last night swelled Frederick county streams into torrents which did a great deal of damage. The greatest damage was done along Linganore Creek. The iron bridge and the mill dam at New London were both swept away. Calvin Dofler's grist mill and saw mill, below New London, and the covered bridge across the Linganore, near Linganore Hills Inn, were carried away by the flood. The board of County Commissioners will hold a special meeting Wednesday to take action regarding the bridges that were washed away.
A followup article appeared in The News on July 2, 1903:
The commissioners yesterday made a trip to the neighborhood of Linganore Hills Inn and inspected the site of the covered wooden bridge which was washed away at that point. The bridge was an old one, and was not damaged by the flood of 1889. Contracts to replace the bridge is most urgently needed.
An article in the Baltimore Sunpapers on June 30, 1903 reports the covered bridge over Linganore Creek being washed away and also the mill dam at New London was washed away. New London is about 2 miles from where Boyer's Mill Bridge was located:
[Special Dispatch to the Baltimore Sun.] FREDERICK, MD., June 28,--The rains which have fallen in this section for the last few weeks had so saturated the earth that the heavy downpour of water which fell yesterday afternoon and last night swelled the Monocacy River and the creeks in the county into raging torrents today.
The covered bridge that crosses the Linganore and which stood the Johnstown Flood [1889] was carried away, and also the mill dam at New London. Calvin Dofler's grist mill and saw mill were swept away.
An article in The Frederick Post on May 21, 1930 informs readers that the covered bridge over Linganore Creek near Boyer's Mill is about to be removed. If this is the same bridge that was lost in 1903, it would be the second bridge at this location:
Another county landmark will disappear soon when the old covered bridge crossing Linganore Creek on the road from McKaig to the National Highway, a short distance west of New Market, will be torn down and replaced by a modern structure of wrought iron, recently purchased by the county commissioners. The new bridge was purchased at a cost of $2,000 and is expected to arrive here the latter part of this week from York, Pa.
The old wooden bridge, which crosses the Linganore at a point known as Boyer's Mill, about one mile and a half from McKaig, has been in service as far back as many residents of the locality can remember. The Linganore Creek, at that point, often rises to unusual proportions during storms and the covered bridge has, upon several occasions, been badly damaged by floods. Repairs have been made from time to time and the bridge again made serviceable.
During heavy rains of last fall and the past winter, the bridge was again badly damaged and its beams became so weakened to the constant battering of the water that residents of the locality have protested against its condition, claiming that it was not safe for traffic, especially for heavily-laden wagons. Automobiles and small vehicles continued to cross over the structure, but did so at their own risk, residents said.
The bridge is said to date back nearly to the Civil War, since the old mill, which still stands nearby, known as Boyer's Mill, dates back to the Civil War days.
Ironically, the article continues to say they believe it is the last standing covered bridge in Frederick County. Three authentic covered bridges, Loys Station, Roddy Road and Utica Mills, were built in the 1800s and still remain today.

UPDATED: 06/11/2013. Information about the 1903 flood that destroyed the bridge. Information indicates two bridges may have been at this location, although not confirmed.

UPDATED: 10/02/2012. Information about the possibility of another bridge at or near this location from a Baltimore Sunpapers article.


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