Philippi Covered Bridge, built in 1852 over the Tygart Valley River in Philippi, is West Virginia’s oldest and longest covered bridge and one of the nation’s few surviving double-barreled covered bridges. Designed by Lemuel Chenoweth for the Beverly-Fairmont Turnpike, it became historically significant during the Civil War, when both Union and Confederate troops used it after the Battle of Philippi and it became the first bridge captured by either side. Saved from destruction in 1863, it later survived alterations, flood damage, and a near-fatal 1989 fire. Reconstructed and reopened in 1991, it still carries U.S. Route 250.