Barrackville was named for settler John Barrack. Originally established in 1771, the
town was not incorporated until 1968.
The second-oldest covered bridge in West Virginia is located within the town of Barrackville.
During the Civil War, Confederate General William E. Jones crossed the Barrackville Bridge
during his raid of Northern Virginia and ordered the bridge to be burned. Fortunately,
he was able to be dissuaded by a local couple, William and Dolly Ice of Ice's Mill. Because
of its unique engineering and the important role it played in the Civil War, the Barrackville
Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
There is an Historical Marker near the Barrackville Covered Bridge which reads:
This covered bridge, built in 1853 by Eli and Lemuel Chenoweth, West Virginia's pioneer
bridge builders, is an excellent example of a modified Burr Truss and is in substantially
original condition. The bridge was saved from destruction during Jones' Raid, April
29, 1863, by the Ice family, nearby mill owners and Southern sympathizers. It's the
only covered bridge in the state that bears its vehicular loads with essentially no
modern reinforcement.
The Barrackville Covered Bridge was restored in 1999. Care was taken to ensure that all
repairs correspond to the bridge's original design.
