Walking Stick, "Part of the Covered Bridge at Williamsburg, Ohio," circa 1935

Covered bridges were built across the United States throughout the 19th century. Walls and roofs protected their wooden truss systems and kept structural timbers dry. Despite their purely practical design, covered bridges had nostalgic appeal, and local residents treasured them long after their utility faded. This walking stick was made from part of a Civil War-era bridge razed in the 1930s.