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Photograph of Pugh's Mill Covered Bridge
Photograph by Greg Hume, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Pugh's Mill Covered Bridge

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“Pugh's Mill Covered Bridge is a registered historic structure near Oxford, Ohio, listed in the National Register on 1975-06-05. This wooden bridge was built in 1869 over Four Mile (Talawanda) Creek and is one of two remaining covered bridges in Butler County, Ohio.”

Wikipedia article Pugh's Mill Covered Bridge, CC BY-SA 4.0.

one of 63 National Register listings in Butler County · listed in 1975 · category: Structure · one of 3 National Historic Landmarks in Butler County.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 structure as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 1 mi. N of Oxford off SR 732, Oxford, 45056
  • When was it listed? 1975-06-05
  • Category. structure
  • Township. Oxford township
  • National Register reference number. 75001336 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

53,483 words

The chapter on Oxford Township in A History and Biographical Cyclopædia of Butler County, Ohio : with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers, published 1882 names Oxford. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

August 5, 1811, at a session of the same commissioners, on petition of inhabitants of Milford Township, it was 'ordered, that so much of the township of Milford as lies within the following boundaries, to wit: Beginning at the northwest corner of the county of Butler; thence south with the western boundary line of the said county of Butler to the southwest corner of township numbered five in the first range east of the meridian line drawn from the mouth of the Great Miami River; thence east with the southern boundary line of the same township to the southeast corner thereof; thence north with the eastern boundary line thereof to the north boundary line of the said county of Butler; thence west with the same to the place of beginning, - shall compose a township which shall be called and known by the name of Oxford Township." Election to be held at the house of Sylvester Lyons on the 24th day of August, 1811, for the election of township officers.

Passage source: A History and Biographical Cyclopædia of Butler County, Ohio : with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers, published 1882.

Oxford Township presents a variety of soils and surfaces: The land is generally elevated and well. adapted to grazing, the growing of wheat, and produce of all kinds. Farms are small, and the agricultural population large for the territory embraced. With the exception of two or more sections, the land belongs to the Miami University, the trustees of that institution leasing the land for ninety-nine years, renewable forever, subject to the annual payment of a quit-rent of six per cent on the purchase money.

Passage source: A History and Biographical Cyclopædia of Butler County, Ohio : with Illustrations and Sketches of Its Representative Men and Pioneers, published 1882.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Oxford Township - 53,483 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 1,852 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,852 specimens collected within 10 miles of Pugh's Mill Covered Bridge between 1888 and 1975: 804 Animalia, 770 Fungi, 204 Plantae, 60 Protozoa, 13 Unrecorded, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by ?, A. V. J.; W. G. S., A.L.; Bucholtz, I. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Taphrina communis (Sadeb.) Giesenh.Taphrina communis (Sadeb.) Giesenh.1888J. L. James
Specimen of unnamed1893B. FinkOxford.
Specimen of Hordeum sativum Pers.Hordeum sativum Pers.1895Kellerman, W.A.Oxford, Butler Co. Ohio.
A photograph of the species Taphrina pruni, not of this specimenTaphrina pruni (Fuckel) Tul.1888J. L. JamesOxford.
A photograph of the species Xylaria polymorpha, not of this specimenXylaria polymorpha (Pers.) Grev.1888James J. F.Oxford
A photograph of the species Erysiphe euphorbiae, not of this specimenErysiphe euphorbiae J.R.Reddy & A.P.Reddy1889L. O. O.Oxford
A photograph of the species Epifagus virginiana, not of this specimenEpifagus virginiana (L.) Barton1890E. E. BogueOxford.
A photograph of the species Mentha spicata, not of this specimenMentha spicata L.1894E. L. MoseleyOxford
A photograph of the species Agrostis perennans, not of this specimenAgrostis perennans (Walter) Tuck.1895Collector(s): Edwin Lincoln MoseleyOxford
A photograph of the species Agrostis scabra, not of this specimenAgrostis scabra Willd.1895Collector(s): Edwin Lincoln MoseleyOxford
Gratiola virginiana L.1895Collector(s): Edwin Lincoln MoseleyOxford
Ustilago hordei (Pers.) Kell. & Sw.1895W. A. Kellerman

All 1,852 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Pugh's Mill Covered Bridge: 1 plant. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Dingledine Pit & PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPlant

Every working recorded in Butler County

Storms near this property

42 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Oxford, the town this property stands in, in 42 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 25 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 1995Thunderstorm WindOxford$40,000A barn was destroyed and several trees were downed.
January 2008Thunderstorm WindOxford$10,000One half mile of power poles were knocked down along State Route 732. Three trees up to 12 in diameter were snapped along Reily-Millville Road. A greenhouse was blown over on US Route 27 in Hanover Township.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindOxford$10,000Large tree branches were broken off, landing on several houses and cars. Several trees were downed.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindOxford$10,000Trees downed.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindOxford$8,000Numerous trees were downed in the Oxford area.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindOxford$5,000Several trees were downed across northwest Butler County.
April 2017Thunderstorm WindOxford$5,000Numerous trees were knocked down in Oxford Township.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindOxford$5,000Numerous trees and power poles were downed along College Corner Pike.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindOxford$5,000Numerous trees were downed.
April 1994Thunderstorm WindOxford$5,000Trees and power lines down.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindOxford$5,000Trees were downed.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindOxford$3,000Several trees were reported knocked down.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOxford$3,000Three to four foot diameter trees were knocked down.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindOxford$3,000A few trees were downed.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindOxford$3,000Two trees were downed near the intersections of Hamilton-Eaton and Somersville Roads.
May 1999Thunderstorm WindOxford$3,000Several trees and power lines were knocked down.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindOxford$2,000A large tree and numerous large branches were knocked down.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindOxford$2,000Several 12 inch diameter trees were downed.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindOxford$2,000Large tree limbs were knocked down.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindOxford$2,000Large tree limbs were downed throughout the University of Miami campus.
November 2013Thunderstorm WindOxford$1,000A large tree was downed on South College Avenue due to thunderstorm winds.
June 2008HailOxford$1,000no account filed
June 2008HailOxford$1,000no account filed
July 2023Thunderstorm WindOxford$100A 6 inch diameter tree limb was downed.
May 2024FloodOxford-High water was reported on Main Street.
May 2018HailOxford-The hail was accompanied by winds estimated to be 50 mph.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindOxford-Several trees were downed, blocking roads in town.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindOxford-Measured gust to 60 mph.
July 1998Flash FloodOxford-Heavy rainfall caused several roads to flood including State Route 732.
June 1995HailOxford-Numerous trees were downed.
June 2017HailOxford-no account filed
August 2015HailOxford-no account filed
July 2014HailOxford-no account filed
August 2012HailOxford-no account filed
March 2012HailOxford-no account filed
May 2011HailOxford-no account filed
July 2011HailOxford-no account filed
May 2002Thunderstorm WindOxford-no account filed
April 2001HailOxford-no account filed
April 2001HailOxford-no account filed
April 1995HailOxford-no account filed
April 1995HailOxford-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Butler County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

From the nomination file

2,160 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

Statement of significance

building date are unknown, but according to newspaper articles in 1951 when the bridge was being by-passed, the bridge was then about 82 years SR 732 was completed, the citizens of the area led a fight to retain the MAY 02 1975 Commerce Conservation losophy Architecture Communications Landscape SIGNIFICANCE Aboriginal Engineering variation. Military REGISTER Transportation itarian Literature Music Agriculture RECEIVED Science Sculpture Pre-Columbian Invention Social/Human- resulted.The Black Bridge is a very interesting example of such a Creek one mile north of Oxford.Talawanda is the Indian name for the It was not uncommon for bridge builders to make variations on standard Political Theater NATIONAL' The name Black comes from a family who once lived near the bridge site.

announced in l95l to remove the covered bridge when the new section of old. This bridge is a beloved landmark in the Oxford area and when plans were This covered bridge was built about 1869 to span Four Mile or Talawanda tance north of the covered bridge.The builder of the bridge and exact old bridge.The bridge is closed to all traffic, auto and pedestrian, about 1869 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANGE (Check One or More as Appropriate) bridge trusses and when such changes were made, a one of a kind bridge Art but a turn-around has been provided for the convenience of visitors. Industry

The whole case file for this property - 2,160 words, 13 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 75001336, 13 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 75001336 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Butler CountyAll 63 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.