In the late 1700s covered bridges were being built in small towns all over Kentucky. At one point there were over four hundred of these magnificent wooden, covered passages that provided protection for travelers, wagons, cargo, and cattle as they crossed a river or creek. Of all these bridges, there are only thirteen left, and of the thirteen, only four are still open to vehicular traffic. Most of these covered bridges were lost to fire, burned by troops on both sides during the Civil War. Today, all the remaining covered bridges are listed with the National Registry of Historic Places.

Since the 1930s, stories have been told about people entering the Colville, Kentucky covered bridge and simply never coming out the other side, including a couple driving home from prom who swerved and crashed into the water below, and an old woman who collapsed and died while crossing. Today, people have reported seeing lights under the bridge, as though a car with its lights still on is underwater, and the sounds of an old woman coughing and crying for help.