In 1896, a late-summer storm destroyed the covered bridge between Columbia and Wrightsville.

I found a postcard photograph of this devastating event.

The photograph was made by Richards & Eckman.

A publisher’s name is faintly visible in the lower right – J. Koehler of New York.

The freakish event caused considerable consternation; this long bridge was heavily used for private and commercial transportation.

This note appears on a website promoting tourism in Columbia:

“Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge Destroyed by Hurricane September 29, 1896.

This was the last wooden covered bridge (prior ones were destroyed in 1832 and 1863) to connect Columbia and Wrightsville, it was replaced by a steel-truss bridge that would last until being dismantled when the Route 30 bridge was built in 1972.”