{"nrhp_refnum":"10000381","name":"Blackford Bridge","other_names":["Pucketts Hole Bridge"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Chestnut Rd (Rte 652)","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lebanon","county":"Russell County","state":"VA","lat":36.96427452800003,"lon":-82.01039446899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-06-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-span steel Pratt through truss bridge over the Clinch River on Route 652 near Lebanon, Russell County, Virginia. Built in 1889 at Blackford, it was moved to its present Pucketts Hole site in 1946.","why_significant":"The bridge is an unusually old surviving metal truss with substantial integrity, built by the Groton Bridge and Manufacturing Company, and is possibly the oldest remaining bridge in VDOT's Bristol District. At Blackford it was a key local and regional transportation link, helping farmers and industries reach the railroad and the market town of Honaker. It qualifies under Criterion A (Transportation) and Criterion C (Engineering), with Criteria Consideration B for its relocation.","narrative":"Spanning the Clinch River in Russell County, Virginia, this two-span steel Pratt through truss bridge runs more than 220 feet and carries a single lane. It was erected in 1889 by the Russell County Board of Supervisors at Blackford, replacing a ferry, using a truss manufactured by the Groton Bridge and Manufacturing Company of New York. The crossing connected farms to the railroad depot at Blackford and to the cattle and lumber center of Honaker, and later carried trucks serving coal, timber and barite operations. In 1946 the bridge was dismantled, barged downriver and re-erected at Pucketts Hole, where residents had previously had no bridge; the concrete pier and abutments date from that move. Historic metal truss bridges are increasingly rare, and in 1997 this was one of only eight in-service examples under state highway control built before 1890. A new bridge opened beside it in 2009, and the old structure is now closed to traffic.","period_of_significance":"1889-1946","architect_builder":"Groton Bridge and Manufacturing Company","architectural_style":"Other: Pratt through truss","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Closed to traffic since summer 2009, when a new bridge was completed next to it; its future was undecided at the time of the form.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:03.031647-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/44/6835/41683544/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/10000381.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000381/5ef2817de1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000381/5ef2817de1-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackford_Bridge_northern_span.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackford_Bridge_northern_span.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683544","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackford_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15199601"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/russell-county/blackford-bridge-10000381/"}