Decorative drawing: a timber truss bridge spanning a river on stone piers, side elevation. Not a photograph of this place.

Nomination for Johnson Road Covered Bridge

The case file that argued this property on to the National Register: 1,519 words across 11 pages, filed in 1984. Read by 4 independent recognisers, of which at least 3 had to agree before a line was published.

Source document Held by the National Archives in Record Group 79 as reference 84003749, where it exists only as a scan with no text layer. The words below were read off that scan by 4 independent recognisers at two resolutions. Only lines that at least 3 of them returned identically appear below; where they disagreed, the line is withheld rather than guessed, so some of the form's furniture is missing. Spelling is never corrected, so a stray character that all the readers agreed on is the recogniser's and the typewriter's.. Nothing is summarised, corrected or written by this site. See the catalogue record, or return to the property.

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

NPS Form 10-900 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service JUL 26 1984 See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries-complete applicable sections and or common street & number - not for publication city, town Petersburg Vic X vicinity of X state Present Use . district - unoccupied - agriculture - private - commercial X structure _ both - work in progress -educational - private residence - religious _ in process - yes: restricted - government - scientific . being considered X. yes: unrestricted _ industrial _ transportation _ military - other: Jackson County Comnissioners % County Engineer 3062 Clary Road Ohio 45640 courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Jackson County Engineer's Office - yes depository for survey records 2. Location 039 35-40-06 6.
Representation in Existing Surveys county Accessible Ownership museum Category site code Courthouse date entertainment received historic object Ohio Status Columbus, building(s) local Jackson park Inventory-Nomination Form Public Acquisition National Register of Historic Places 5. Location of Legal Description 1. Name 3. Classification (3-82) 4. Owner of Property Johnson Road Covered Bridge X public date entered AUG 2 3 1984 title For NPS use only DMB No. 1024-0011 :xp. 10-31-84 Record Book, Vol. 4 Miriam Wood 079 7. Description - excellent X unaltered X. original site X good _moved Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance

Description of the property

The Johnson Road Covered Bridge is a single span wooden truss covered bridge spanning way is approximately 14' wide and the structure is 17'4" wide overall with a 12' over- head clearance. The bridge has vertical siding, a gabled metal roof, projecting portals wards the center at a 450 angle and the counter braces inclined towards the abutments lateral bracing connects the bottom and top chords of the two trusses. Condition abutments. date ruins fair at a 6o? angle.The center panel is a V formed by two counterbraces.A "rigidly fastened" Check one the Little Scioto River in an isolated rural section of southwest Jackson County.It The trusses of the bridge are Robert Smith's 1869 patent.The braces are inclined to- is a six panel Smith truss measuring 70' 11" overall and 68'3" clear span. The road- and a single layer of floor planks laid diagonally.
It sets on the original cut stone unexposed deteriorated Areas of Significance-Check and justify below - economics X engineering X 1800-1899 exploration settlement politics government ca. 1870 Statement of

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) truss type developed by an important and prolific Ohio bridge builder, Robert W. Smith. throughout the state and the Midwest in the 1870s. He continually adapted and improved his truss design as he built them, and four different variations have been identified. example of 19th century wooden bridge technology. thereafter, he moved his business to Toledo to take advantage of its better transportation Department of Transportation. It was combined with the Toledo Bridge Company in the cutting down the dimensions of the ends of the timbers, and thus avoid reducing the amount of material and thereby the strength of each member, a major concern of 19th century Smith built a large number of both wooden and iron highway and railroad bridges throughout southern Ohio, and all but one of the known examples of his Smith truss today are south 1600-1699 1890s.
1400-1499 conservation 1700-1799 1500-1599 communications philosophy theater industry humanitarian transportation military commerce invention literature Period archeology-prehistoric music agriculture law social/ Specific dates 1900- 8. Significance of the old National Road.Virtually all of the covered bridges built in Jackson County firm's agent and reputation in this area. ..archeology-historic _communityplanning -prehistoric --other(specify) Robert Smith was bornin Miami County in 1833,the son of a cabinet maker.Asa teenager ...architecture ...education ...sculpture .. science landscape architecture Builder Architect Robert W.
Smith The Johnson Road Covered Bridge is significant as an example of a distinctive wooden The Johnson Bridge was built upon Smith's 1869 patent (#97,714), and is the only structure of this type known to currently exist in the state, and is thus a comparatively rare facilities. By the 1870s the firm began the construction of metal truss bridges, to the minimum of material. They were designed so that connections could be made without wooden bridge builders. The Smith truss was also distinctive for its angled arrangement during the 19th century were for example, Smith trusses, indicative of the quality of the Smith invented and patented two "Smith trusses" in the late 1860s and built these bridges purpose of manufacturing, constructing and erecting bridges" based on his patents.
Shortly builders" identified in the recent survey of Ohio highway bridges conducted by the Ohio by the company identified the brace as "the perfect cross-brace" intended "to prevent art religion careening." of braces and counterbraces aimed at increasing the rigidity of the structure.Advertising Smith's 1869 patents were intended to provide the maximum strength with Covered Bridge Society, Vol. IX, #4 (Spring 1963), PP. 4-5. The Ohio Historic Bridge Inventory, Evaluation, and Preservation Plan Columbus: Ohio Department of Transportation, 1983. Acreage of nominated property - Quadrangle scale - UT M References The nomination includes only the bridge and its abutments.
X state Miriam Wood and David Simmons 3155 Whitehead Road street & number Ohio 43204 city or town The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89 according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. State Historic Preservation Officer signature Chief of Registration GPO 894-785 614/466-1500 code 11.

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

Form Prepared By Columbus county date Northing organization Easting telephone national Attest: 1:24000 local 10. Geographical Data 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification 9. Major Bibliographical References name/title Verbal boundary description and justification National Register List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries Entered in the less than one For NPS use only Southern Ohio Covered Bridge Association date 665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated I hereby certify that this propertyjs included in the National Register *Keeper of the National Register Quadrangle name Stockdale Zone SHPO L413|113[51010 NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018 Exp.
10-31-84 United States Department of the Interior For NPS use only Ohio, Secretary of State, Articles of Incorporation, Vol. #8 Southern Ohio Covered Bridge Association, Record Book, Vol. 4 Wilson, Raymond 'E., "The Story of the Smith Truss," Covered Bridge Topics Continuation sheet Inventory-Nomination Form Page National Register of Historic Places (3-82) received Johnson Road Covered Bridge, Petersburg, Jackson County, Ohio National Park Service date entered Item number ASO Form - 17 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 'R" June 1984 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET JULL 226- 1984- Fed. Reg.
Date: - Date Due: _ 8/23/84 -9/9/84 nomination by person or local government _ REJECT - owner objection Federal Agency: _ -appeal -sample _request LJ NR decision Reviewer's comments: Discipline _ see continuation sheet Nomination returned for: _ technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 3. Classification Public Acquisition 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? 7. Description Check one -J excellent J deteriorated J unaltered J original site - moved ] summary paragraph ruins yes Ownership Category completeness dates Status Recom./Criteria Reviewer resubmission alterations/integrity OHIO Action: ACCEPT Accessible clarity Condition boundary selection Jackson County 2. Location Substantive Review: Working No.
- Describe the present and original (if known)physical appearance Johnson Road Covered Bridge Present Use fair RETURN unexposed Entered in tha National Register Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) summary paragraph - completeness. Japplicable criteria J justification of areas checked J relating significance to the resource J context J relationship of integrity to significance J justification of exception - Other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12.
State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: State Historic Preservation Officer signature - Date - J Maps Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to Signed Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet clarity Builder/Architect title state Photographs Phone: local 8. Significance Specific dates _national Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Period Jackson County, Ohio Photo: Carrie Conklin, 1983 Negative: Ohio Historic Preservation Ofc. View #1: Portal view looking north Johnson Road Covered Bridge, Jackson County, Ohio Photo: Carrie Conklin, 1985 Negative: Ohio Historic Preservation Ofc.
View #2: View of top chord, western truss Johnson Road Covered Bridge, Jackson County, Ohio Photo: Carrie Conklin, 1903 View #3: View of Smith trusses, western truss Negative: Ohio Historic Preservation Ofc. Johnson Road Covered Bridge, Jackson County, Ohio Photo: Carrie Conklin, 1985 Negative: Ohio Historic Preservation Otc. View #4: View of Ist panel, at Southern Johnson Road Covered Bridge, end of western truss. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STATE OF OHIO DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STOCKDALE QUADRANGLE DIVISION OF GEOLOGICAL SURVEY SCALE 1:24 STOCKDALE, OHIO 7.5 MINUTE SERIES (TOPOGRAPHIC) OHIO Johnson. Rd