Bell Covered Bridge | |
Location | Northwest of Barlow in Barlow Township |
---|---|
Nearest city | Barlow, Ohio |
Coordinates | 39°25′52″N81°40′34″W / 39.431174°N 81.676210°W |
Area | Less than 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
Built | 1888 |
Architect | Ebenezer B. Henderson |
Architectural style | Multiple Kingpost Truss |
NRHP reference No. | 12000836 |
Added to NRHP | October 3, 2012 |
The Bell Covered Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge in rural Washington County, Ohio, United States. One of several such bridges in the region built by the same man, it remained open to traffic with the exception of periodic repairs, until it was permanently closed on September 12, 2022, and it has been named a historic site.
Located near the community of Barlow in Barlow Township, the bridge carries the gravel Bell Road over Falls Creek, [1] : 4 a southwestern tributary of Wolf Creek. Surrounded by woods, [2] the bridge lies adjacent to the farm once owned by the namesake Bell family, and the surrounding countryside is a mixture of forests and agricultural fields. [1] : 4 The builder was E.B. Henderson, who was responsible for four bridges in the area: the Blackwood Covered Bridge (1879), the Shinn Covered Bridge (1886), the Bell Covered Bridge (1888), and the Henry Covered Bridge (1894). Like two of the other three, the Bell is a multiple king post truss design, which became popular nationwide following its use on the National Road in a past version of the Y-bridge in Zanesville to the north. [1] : 3 An ordinary gable-roofed bridge with windows just below the roofline, the bridge spans 59 feet (18 m); [2] the deck is approximately 18 feet (5.5 m) wide, with 15 feet (4.6 m) of interior width, and the 11 feet (3.4 m) height permits slightly more than 9 feet (2.7 m) of interior clearance. It rests on abutments built of sandstone, quarried locally, while the roof is made of tin. The abutments are similar, with their faces underlying the bridge decks and wing walls to the side. [1] : 4
Officials twice closed the bridge for extensive repairs: structural problems prompted a 1998 closure, [1] : 5 during which stones in the abutment were replaced, the truss system solidified, and missing or damaged components replaced with identical newly produced components, [1] : 4 and a 2005 closure to fix damage caused by termites. With those exceptions, the bridge remained open continuously since its construction through September 12, 2022. [1] : 5 On September 12, 2022, the bridge was permanently closed and a bypass was built by contractors under the direction of Washington County officials. The bypass opened on November 14, 2022.
In late 2012, the Bell Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, qualifying as a historically significant example of local engineering. It is one of seven covered bridges on the National Register in Washington County, along with Henderson's Shinn Bridge and the Harra, Hildreth, Hune, Rinard, and Root Bridges. [3]
The Mansfield Covered Bridge is a Double Burr Arch double span truss bridge located on Mansfield Road (historic) and Big Raccoon Creek in Mansfield southeast of Rockville in Parke County, Indiana. Built by Joseph J. Daniels in 1867 at a cost of $12,200. At 279 ft (85 m) it is the second longest covered bridge left in Parke County. This Historic Site rest on land provided by Indiana DNR, of Parke County, Indiana and is open to the public all year.
The Van Tran Flat Bridge is a wooden, single span covered bridge that crosses Willowemoc Creek in the town of Rockland, in Sullivan County, New York. The bridge was built in 1860 by John Davidson and features a town lattice truss and a laminated arch system. This makes the Van Tran Flat Bridge the oldest surviving covered bridge in Sullivan County. The bridge was closed and abandoned in 1972, but restoration began in 1984 and reopened the next year. The Van Tran Flat Bridge is a disputed 117 feet (36 m) in length, and leads to Livingston Manor Covered Bridge County Park.
The Burkeville Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge, carrying Main Poland Road over the South River in Conway, Massachusetts. Probably built in 1870, it is a regionally rare example of a multiple kingrod bridge with iron tensioning verticals, and one of a few 19th century covered bridges to survive in Massachusetts. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Chevelon Creek Bridge is a historic road bridge located about 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Winslow, in Navajo County, eastern Arizona, United States. It is a steel Warren Pony truss bridge over Chevelon Creek, built on the first permanent road connecting Holbrook, the seat of Navajo County, and Winslow. When built, the road was regionally important in northern Arizona as well as being a segment of an early national highway at the time automobile traffic was growing and national roads were first being formed. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 for being a rare design in Arizona, part of an early transnational roadway, one of the first bridges built by Arizona after statehood in 1912, and being in nearly original condition.
The Power House Covered Bridge, also known as the School Street Covered Bridge, is a covered bridge from 1872 that crosses the Gihon River off State Route 100C in Johnson, Vermont, US. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The bridge's name is from a now obsolete hydroelectric generating station just upstream from it. The bridge is of Queen post truss design by an unknown builder.
The Shinn Covered Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Located in the countryside northeast of Bartlett in Washington County, this single-span truss bridge was built in 1886 by local carpenter Charles T. Shinn. Built of weatherboarded walls with stone abutments and a metal roof, the bridge features vertical siding, and its portals have remained vertical and resisted creeping into another shape. The heart of the bridge's structure employs the Burr Truss design, which mixes the king post truss with a wooden arch designed by Andrea Palladio in the sixteenth century. Shinn built his bridge to span the western branch of Wolf Creek in Palmer Township. Measuring 98 feet (30 m) in length, the bridge was constructed soon after the drowning of one of Shinn's children.
The Gifford Covered Bridge, also called the C.K. Smith Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge that crosses the Second Branch of the White River in Randolph, Vermont on Hyde Road. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It is one of two bridges in the state that was uncovered when first built, its trusses boxed for shelter.
The Northfield Falls Covered Bridge, also called the Station Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge that carries Cox Brook Road across the Dog River in Northfield, Vermont. Built in 1872, this Town lattice truss bridge is one of five surviving covered bridges in the town, and one of two that are visible from each other. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Pine Brook Covered Bridge, also called the Wilder Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge that crosses Pine Brook in Waitsfield, Vermont on North Road. Built in 1872, it is one two surviving 19th-century covered bridges in the town. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Great Eddy Covered Bridge, also called the Big Eddy Covered Bridge or Waitsfield Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge that crosses the Mad River in Waitsfield, Vermont on Bridge Street. Built in 1833, it is one of Vermont's oldest covered bridges. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Seguin Covered Bridge, also called the Upper Covered Bridge and the Sequin Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge that crosses Lewis Creek in Charlotte, Vermont on Roscoe Road. It was built about 1850, and is a distinctive variant of a Burr arch design. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Longley Covered Bridge, also known as the Harnois Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge that crosses the Trout River in Montgomery, Vermont on Longley Bridge Road. Built in 1863, this Town lattice truss bridge is the oldest of a group of area bridges built by brothers Sheldon & Savannah Jewett. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The bridge is closed to traffic, and has been bypassed by an adjacent temporary bridge.
The Hammond Covered Bridge is a Town lattice covered bridge spanning Otter Creek in Pittsford, Vermont. The bridge was built in 1842 by Asa Norse, and originally carried Kendall Hill Road, which now passes just to its south. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1974.
The Covered Bridge in Cedarburg, Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States, is one of the last remaining covered bridges in that state, which once had about 40 covered bridges. Built in 1876 to cross Cedar Creek, the bridge is 120 feet (37 m) long and is made of pine with oak lattices. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and is now used only for pedestrian traffic.
The Bell Road Bridge is a Pratt through truss bridge in Dexter Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan. Built in 1891, the bridge carried Bell Road over the Huron River. From 1997 to 2018, the bridge sat on the riverbank, overgrown with brush. The bridge is a Michigan State Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Officially known as the Cilleyville-Bog Bridge, this structure began its tenure named simply Bog Bridge. There was already a Cilleyville Bridge just eight hundred feet away on the Blackwater River, located in an area of Andover named after the Cilley family. When that bridge burned down in 1908, the Bog Bridge became known as the Cilleyville Bridge since it was the only one left in Cilleyville.
The Waterman Covered Bridge was an historic covered bridge in Johnson, Vermont that carried Waterman Road across Waterman Creek. Built in 1868, it was one of three surviving 19th-century bridges in the town. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and collapsed in January 1982.
The Cold River Bridge was a historic bridge that carried Vermont Route 7B (VT 7B) across the Cold River in Clarendon, Vermont. The bridge, a steel Parker through truss, was built by the American Bridge Company in 1928, and was one of many bridges built in the state in the wake of devastating 1927 floods. It carried U.S. Route 7 (US 7) until bypassed by a bridge to the east, and was closed in 1989. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. It was subsequently demolished after a report noting substantial failures.
The Depot Covered Bridge is a historic Town lattice truss bridge, carrying Depot Hill Road over Otter Creek in Pittsford, Vermont. The bridge was built about 1840, and is one of Vermont's older covered bridges. It underwent restoration in the 1980s, and was subsequently reinforced with steel stringers. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Burrington Covered Bridge is a historic queenpost truss covered bridge in Lyndon, Vermont. Built in the 19th century, it is one of five covered bridges in Lyndon. It formerly carried Burrington Bridge Road across the Passumpsic River; it has been bypassed by a modern bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Media related to Bell Covered Bridge at Wikimedia Commons