The bridge had been closed to vehicular traffic when a new bridge was constructed beside it, but it remained a tourist attraction as the longest multi-span covered bridge in Kentucky.[3]
Beech Fork, Mooresville, and Mount Zion were all accepted names for the bridge. Mount Zion appears to be the most used historic name. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1] Records from 1871 indicate it to be 280 feet long and 18 feet wide, but a measurement taken by Kentucky's Department of Transportation in the 1970s measured it at 211 feet.[2]
During a 2015-2017 restoration of the bridge it was determined by the contractor, Arnold M. Graton Associates of Ashland, New Hampshire, that the arches were a very early modification to the bridge. As such, the bridge was reclassified as a Multiple Kingpost Truss with added arches.
It burned down on March 9, 2021; suspected arson.[4][5][6]
Gallery
Bridge before 2015 renovation
Covered bridge side by side with newer vehicular traffic bridge (2019)
Interior view of arches (2019)
Mount Zion bridge stone foundations after the arson in 2021