{"nrhp_refnum":"75001324","name":"Eagle Creek Covered Bridge","other_names":["Bowman Covered Bridge"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"3 mi. S of Decatur on OH 763","address_restricted":false,"city":"Decatur","county":"Brown County","state":"OH","lat":38.76973607000008,"lon":-83.71489557299998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-12-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-span wooden Smith truss covered bridge carrying State Route 763 over Eagle Creek, about three miles south of Decatur in Brown County, Ohio. The original form gives 1872 as the construction date, while a 1986 update gives 1875.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the longest single-span covered bridge in Ohio and one of only 15 surviving Smith trusses in the state. It is also described as the last covered bridge remaining on the Ohio state highway system, out of about 95 in the late 1930s.","narrative":"Carrying State Route 763 over Eagle Creek south of Decatur, this wooden covered bridge is a single-span Smith truss, 172 feet 6 inches long overall with a clear span of 164 feet 6 inches. It has vertical siding, a metal roof, straight portals and dry-laid limestone abutments with concrete reinforcement. The trusses are poplar and the floor is pine. It is a 14-panel, type 4 Smith truss, a design patented by Robert W. Smith of Ohio. The original nomination dates it to 1872, while later research credits the Smith Bridge Company with building it in 1875. It is known as the Bowman Bridge after a family that ran a general store at nearby Neel. The nomination lists it as the longest single-span covered bridge in Ohio, one of only 15 Smith trusses left in the state, and the only covered bridge still on the state highway system. The state rebuilt the floor and siding in 1952 without changing the basic structure.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1872)","architect_builder":"Smith truss designed by Robert W. Smith; built by the Smith Bridge Company (per 1986 update); abutments by Samuel Rees","architectural_style":"Smith truss (type 4, 14-panel) covered bridge","criteria":[],"status_note":"State-owned and in very good condition; renovated by the State Highway Department in 1952, with a new roof in 1963 and repainting in 1964.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.153907-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001324.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986871","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Creek_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54958299"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/brown-county/eagle-creek-covered-bridge-75001324/"}