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

Smith Road Bridge

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 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

one of 25 National Register listings in Crawford County · listed in 1980 · category: Structure.

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

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 structure as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. NW of Bucyrus, Bucyrus, 44820
  • When was it listed? 1980-10-07
  • Category. structure
  • Township. Lykens township
  • National Register reference number. 80002973 - 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.

What happened here

An account from the chapter on Lykens township, The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.

From History of Crawford County and Ohio : Containing a History of the State of Ohio, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time ... a History of Crawford County ... Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Some of the Early Settlers and Prominent Men, Etc, published 1881 - Lykens Township

Biographical Sketches

Perky's sons were among the pcatriotic young men who hastened to the defense of their country when her flag was insulted by traitorous hands. John enlisted in Co. G, 25th O. V. I., and served three yeai's, coming home uninjured. In 1862. Lewis and Franklin entered Company H, 55th O. V. I. Lewis was killed at the battle of Kosaca, Ga., and his ashes now repose in the National cemetery at Chattanooga, Tonn.

Read the rest of this passage

The ground it stands on

17,158 words

This property stands in Lykens Township. History of Crawford County and Ohio : Containing a History of the State of Ohio, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time ... a History of Crawford County ... Biographical Sketches, Portraits of Some of the Early Settlers and Prominent Men, Etc, published 1881; History of Crawford County and Ohio, published 1881 gives that township a chapter of its own.

The chapter covers the township.

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 Lykens Township - 17,158 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 163 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 163 specimens collected within 10 miles of Smith Road Bridge between 1842 and 1973: 150 Animalia, 10 Plantae, 3 Fungi. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by Beal, L. E., Benjamin, J. R., Chase, H. (Hazel) 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 Helodium paludosum (Austin) Austin ex Broth.Helodium paludosum (Austin) Austin ex Broth.1842William S. Sullivant
Specimen of Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 1861Lestes unguiculatus Hagen, 18611942H. PriceBenton Township, ditch
Specimen of Tramea lacerata Hagen, 1861Tramea lacerata Hagen, 18611942H. PriceBenton Township
A photograph of the species Cirriphyllum piliferum, not of this specimenCirriphyllum piliferum (Hedw.) Grout1842W. S. Sullivant
A photograph of the species Drepanocladus polycarpos, not of this specimenDrepanocladus polycarpos (Blandow ex Voit) Warnst.1842W. S. Sullivant
A photograph of the species Lophocolea heterophylla, not of this specimenLophocolea heterophylla (Schrad.) Dumort.1844not recorded
A photograph of the species Gymnoconia interstitialis, not of this specimenGymnoconia interstitialis (Schltdl.) Lagerh.1906Hieber ChristinaBucyrus
A photograph of the species Lythrurus umbratilis, not of this specimenLythrurus umbratilis (Girard, 1856)1929MB TrautmanSandusky River, NE corner of Bucyrus Twp
A photograph of the species Orconectes rusticus, not of this specimenOrconectes rusticus (Girard, 1852)1930E. WichliffBucyrus Fish Hatchery
A photograph of the species Hyla versicolor, not of this specimenHyla versicolor LeConte, 18251931Conant, R. (Roger)W. of Bucyrus, Crawford Co., Ohio
A photograph of the species Antennaria parlinii, not of this specimenAntennaria parlinii subsp. fallax (Greene) R.J.Bayer & Stebbins1932Leslie L Pontius; Floyd BartleyBenton
A photograph of the species Eurycea longicauda, not of this specimenEurycea longicauda (Green, 1818)1932Walker, C. F. (Charles F.)West Fork, Crawford Co., Ohio

All 163 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Smith Road Bridge: 1 past producer, 1 plant. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Bucyrus Plant & QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPlant
Spore QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Crawford County

Storms near this property

60 of 95 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bucyrus, the town this property stands in, in 95 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 61 thunderstorm wind, 25 hail, 3 flash flood, 3 flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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
June 1995Thunderstorm WindBucyrus1 hurt, $2,000Large limbs were downed. A 26-year-old man was hospitalized after lightning struck the street about 10 feet from where he was standing.
August 2007Flash FloodBucyrus$62,000,000Heavy rain producing thunderstorms affected Crawford County during the late evening hours of August 20th and early morning hours of August 21st. Rainfall rates with the strongest storms exceeded three inches per hour. Trained spotters in Bucyrus measured storm totals of 8.68 inches and 8.5 inches respectively. About 5 inches of this total fell between midnight and 4 am. Runoff from this rain combined with ground already saturated from earlier rains led to catastrophic flooding across portions of Crawford County. Local officials stated that the flooding in the county was the worst ever! A total of 68 homes were destroyed with another 240 homes suffering major structural damage. Another 600 homes sustained minor damage with over 1200 additional homes affected (less than three feet of water in the basement). Many businesses also sustained significant damage. Some of the worst flooding occurred in Bucyrus were many people had to be rescued from flood cars. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated and including at least 30 that had to be rescued by boat. Crestline was also hard hit with water in some part of the town over waist deep. Significant damage was reported along Bucyrus Street and Thrush Ave. At least one business in Crestline was destroyed. Dozens of roads and streets had to be closed because of flooding. Damage to roads, bridges and culverts was extensive. Cleanup and overtime costs incurred by local government agencies was substantial. Finally, standing water and erosion from the runoff caused damage to agricultural interests in the county. |
February 2011FloodBucyrus$1,500,000Heavy rain and rapid snow melt led to a rapid rise in the Sandusky River at Bucyrus, which reached a 100 year crest of 10.86 feet. The only official rainfall observation was in Galion where 2.38 was reported. Six to ten inches of heavy snow was on the ground at the onset of the rain. This snow rapidly melted as temperatures warmed into the 50s on the 28th. Up to an additional inch of water equivalent rainfall was released from the melted snow. Several people had be rescued from homes and vehicles as the water came up. About 30 homes in Bucyrus were flooded as the Sandusky River came out of banks. Countyline Road was one of the most affected areas where at least a dozen homes were damaged. Several dozen new cars were destroyed as flood waters inundated a car dealership.
April 2024Tornado (EF1)Bucyrus$1,000,000An EF1 tornado with estimated peak winds of 110 mph occurred in Bucyrus. The tornado began near the bend of Kerstetter Road and West Southern Avenue. The tornado yielded 80 mph winds with damage to the roof of a home on West Southern Avenue. The tornado tracked northeastward and produced scattered damage in the form of broken tree limbs. The tornado continued northeastward across the Sandusky River and intensified with winds up to 100 mph. Several large hardwood trees were uprooted, a garage was destroyed, a small trailer rolled, three chimneys were blown down, several large trees were uprooted, and a shed was destroyed near the intersection of Ridge Avenue and Wise Street. The tornado continued northeastward with maximum winds of 110 mph while moving a house off its foundation. The tornado also caused roof damage to the post office and a roof collapse at a convenience store in and around downtown Bucyrus. In addition, an abandoned plant wall was blown out and several antennas were bent. The tornado continued northeastward, downed several large trees across a golf course, and damaged a storage shed. Several tree limbs were broken as the tornado tracked farther northeastward and weakened. The tornado finally ended along Beechgrove Road northeast of U.S. Highway 30.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$500,000Trees and limbs were downed, some on power lines. A senior Citizen Complex was struck by lightning and caught fire. Residents had to be evacuated and six housing units were destroyed.
June 2011HailBucyrus$250,000Numerous reports of quarter, half dollar, golf ball, and hen egg size hail came in as a supercell thunderstorm tracked across the county. Numerous vehicles and homes were damaged as a result of the severe hail.
July 2003Flash FloodBucyrus$250,000Thunderstorms dumped two to four inches of rain on Bucyrus during the late afternoon and early evening hours causing many streams and creeks to leave their banks. Two inches of rain was measured in 25 minutes during the peak of the storm. Widespread street and lowland flooding occurred, mainly on the east side of the city. Several streets had to be closed due to flooding. Flood waters up to three feet deep were reported and at least a couple vehicles became stranded in the high water.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$125,000Two large barns and part of a house were blown down. Debris from these structures scattered as far as a half of a mile away.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$125,000Severe thunderstorms moved across Crawford County during the afternoon hours of June 22nd. A 71 mph wind gust was measured at the Bucyrus Airport as the storms moved through. Numerous trees from Bucyrus to Galion were taken down, along with utility poles and wires. Four homes were damaged when trees fell on them and several mobile homes were blown off their foundations causing major damage. Also near Bucyrus, a barn was knocked down, a gas pump was blown over, and several cars at a dealership were damaged by flying debris. In Galion, several buildings sustained minor damage.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$100,000A 69 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured on the east side of Bucyrus. The roof of an apartment building was blown off and dozens of trees nearby were downed.
May 2003Flash FloodBucyrus$100,000Thunderstorms moved across Crawford County and dumped over two inches of rain on Bucyrus in a very short period of time. Widespread lowland and street flooding occurred. Many roads were closed with water up to two feet deep reported at some locations. A few homes and cars were damaged by the flood waters.
November 2001Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$100,000A thunderstorm downburst damaged buildings and downed trees along a mile and a half long path southeast of Bucyrus in Whetstone Township. Most of the damage occurred from Shearer Road north to near the intersection of State Routes 19 and 100. Three barns lost sections of roofing and a 30 foot tall corn dryer was toppled at a farm on Shearer Road. Around ten trees were also downed.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$90,000A 59 mph wind gust was measured in Bucyrus. Several large trees were downed in Bucyrus and a tree fell on a house in Leesville. The house sustained major damage to a portion of its roof. Thirty to forty trees were blown down at a golf course in Galion. A sun porch on a house in Crestline was hit by a falling tress and destroyed. Flagpoles in the city of Crestline were bent by winds estimated at 60 to 70 mph and a fence at Crestline High School was blown down.
May 2015Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$85,000Thunderstorm winds overturned a semi truck on U.S. Highway 30 near Knauss Road just went of Bucyrus. A few trees and a couple utility poles were also toppled in the area. A couple parked vehicles sustained damage from flying debris. No injuries were reported.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$50,000A line of thunderstorms moved across Crawford County downing trees throughout the county. Power outages were also reported.
October 1999Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$50,000Thunderstorm winds estimated at 60 mph blew the roof off of a barn four miles south of Bucyrus near State Route 4. The barn roof struck a passing car and landed in the middle of the road. The car was severely damaged, but the driver was unhurt.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$35,000Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and a couple utility poles in the Bucyrus area. Scattered power outages were also reported.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$30,000A barn suffered extensive damage after the roof was blown off. Numerous trees were also reported down.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$30,000Thunderstorm winds downed several trees and large limbs. A house and and at least one car were damaged by fallen trees.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$30,000The roof was blown off of a house.
August 2005Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$25,000A large tree fell onto a house. Also, a wall and a portion of a roof were blown off of a barn.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$25,000Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees. A house was slightly damaged by a tree.
May 2021FloodBucyrus$20,000Moderate rainfall on May 9th was reported up to 3.32 in the headwaters of the Sandusky River. At Bucyrus, the river came out of banks resulting in moderate flooding including the downtown district. Closed roads were Lane St., River St., and most notably N. Sandusky Ave. at River St. where some businesses were inundated. Both|Aumiller Park and Harmon Park were flooded with several feet of water. There were three water rescues during the event.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$20,000Thunderstorm winds downed numerous large trees.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$20,000Thunderstorms produced downburst winds that downed a tree onto a car. Power lines were also knocked down and a large tree at the fairgrounds was downed.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$15,000Thunderstorm winds downed some trees and power lines over the southwestern portion of Crawford County.
September 2016Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$15,000Thunderstorm winds snapped a telephone pole.
October 2013Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$15,000Thunderstorm winds downed toppled a large tree and some limbs. A home was damaged by the fallen tree.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$15,000Thunderstorm winds caused a large tree to fall on a car.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$15,000Several trees and power lines were reported down, especially on the south end of Bucyrus.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$15,000Thunderstorm winds destroyed a small building under construction.
September 2003Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$15,000Thunderstorm winds downed several trees in the Bucyrus area.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$15,000Thunderstorm winds downed many large tree limbs.
May 2002Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$15,000Thunderstorm winds downed a couple of trees and a few power poles.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$12,000Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees and power lines.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$10,000Thunderstorm winds downed several trees in the county.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$10,000Thunderstorm winds downed five large trees, each measuring 18 inches in diameter.
November 1998Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$10,000Several trees and power lines were downed.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$7,000Trees and road signs were downed.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$5,000Power lines and power poles were blown down on State Route 19.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$5,000Thunderstorms downed a few trees in eastern Crawford County.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$5,000Two trees and a few large limbs were reported down.
November 2003Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$5,000Thunderstorm winds downed two large trees near Bucyrus.
June 2003HailBucyrus$5,000Quarter size hail was observed.
November 2002HailBucyrus$5,000Dime size hail was observed.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$5,000Trees and power lines downed.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$3,000Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree limbs.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000Thunderstorm winds downed a large Sycamore tree.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000Thunderstorm winds downed two large trees.
August 2009Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000A few large limbs were reported down.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000Several large limbs were reported down.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000A few large limbs reported down.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000A few large limbs were reported down.
June 2004HailBucyrus$2,000Quarter size hail was observed.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000Thunderstorm winds downed one tree and one large limb eight miles northeast of Bucyrus in Liberty Township.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000Thunderstorm winds downed large tree limbs near Bucyrus and in Galion.
April 2003HailBucyrus$2,000Dime size hail was observed.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000Thunderstorm winds downed one tree in Bucyrus.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000no account filed
June 1996Thunderstorm WindBucyrus$2,000no account filed

Every storm recorded in Crawford County

Newspapers printed here

0 digitised pages

1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 0 issues, 0 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

NewspaperPublished
The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph1894 to 1923

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

1,443 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.

Description of the property

form an S-shaped design extending beyond the bowstring truss at each of the four is 10'.The channel width between banks is approximately 20',and the channel is a single span bridge that measures 45'6" out to out of the floor and has a clear of the bridge seats are 2'in width by 15'3"in length.The 6I-beams and2 depth is6'.The bridge is 1ocated on a township road between sections 28 ruins The decorative work on the bridge consists of curved metal decorations that No bridge company can be identified as the manufacturer of this bridge;it There are 4 intermediate floor beams spaced at the panel points;there are truss span of 41',so it is a very small example of this type of bridge.T the guards is 14'and the width out to out of the trusses is 15'2",giving a Areas of Significance-Check and justify below - prehistoric - archeology-historic .conservation - agriculture .

sculpture . architecture _ social/ X engineering - music X 1800-1899 . commerce exploration/settlement - - philosophy _theater -other (specify) Statement of

Statement of significance

(in one paragraph) The Smith Road Bridge, located over a ditch on I.R. 62 in Lykens Township, is bowstring arch truss. As the oldest bridge, it is significant for its contribution to the history of transportation in the county; as the only example of this truss identified for the bridge through the county engineer's files, and there is no The bridge rests on stone wall abutments and spans a ditch at a height from the grade to the stream bed of 10'. 1600-1699 1890 1700-1799 1500-1599 1400-1499 economics education communications Builder/Architect humanitarian industry invention Period science 1900- this structure. military Specific dates major transportation artery in the county.No bridge making company can be it is also interesting because of the decorative S-shaped metal designs located 8.

Significance decorative element on a township road that is quite narrow and has never been a law literature clearance width of 14',with no sidewalks or approach slabs.It has five panels identifying plate on the structure. The bridge has a clear span of 4l' and a _ religion - politics/government X transportation type, it is significant for engineering. Although this is a very small bridge, art the oldest bridge in Crawford County and the only one in the county built with the ofvarying lengths with diagonal bracing and vertical hangers supporting the deck.

1890 rather than being built since the county records do not indicate the builder of in Crawford County in the 1870s.It is possible that this bridge was relocated in landscape architecture The bridge appears to be a King Patent Tubular Arch" built by the King Iron Bridge on each end of.the two.trusses.It is.especially interesting to find this kind 9.

The whole case file for this property - 1,443 words, 11 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 80002973, 11 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 80002973 in Record Group 79.
Crawford CountyAll 25 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.