{"nrhp_refnum":"75001527","name":"Brubaker Covered Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"W of Gratis on Aukerman Creek Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Gratis","county":"Preble County","state":"OH","lat":39.651627793000046,"lon":-84.54398052099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-06-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-span covered bridge on Aukerman Creek Road, west of Gratis in Preble County, Ohio, built in 1887 by Evrett S. Sherman using the Childs truss design.","why_significant":"The bridge is an example of the little-known Childs truss, which used iron bars as diagonal counterbraces in multiple kingpost construction. Ohio has the only known covered bridges of this type in the nation, and seven of the eight remaining are in Preble County. It is also tied to Sherman, who built 15 bridges in the county after an 1886 storm.","narrative":"Spanning a creek west of Gratis in Preble County, Ohio, this 85-foot covered bridge was built in 1887 by Evrett S. Sherman. It uses the Childs truss, patented in 1846 by Horace Childs, which combines multiple kingposts with iron bars as diagonal counterbraces. The bridge rests on cut limestone abutments and has a low-pitched gabled roof, a 15-foot roadway and partial vertical siding. Ohio holds the only known covered bridges of this type in the country, and seven of the eight survivors are in Preble County. Sherman, a New Hampshire native living in Eaton, began a ten-year run of bridge building after a storm in 1886 washed out many crossings, erecting 15 in the county. He standardized his truss members and prefabricated parts in his Eaton yard during the off season. Later changes include removal of some siding in 1936 for visibility, an oak runway over the beech floor beams, partial metal roofing and pointed abutments.","period_of_significance":"1887","architect_builder":"Evrett S. Sherman (builder); Horace Childs (inventor of the Childs truss)","architectural_style":"Childs truss covered bridge (multiple kingpost with iron tie rods)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition, altered, on its original site; owned by Preble County and open to the public without restriction as a transportation structure.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.701654-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001527.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001527/f8ef7e1398-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001527/f8ef7e1398-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brubaker_Covered_Bridge,_southern_side_and_western_portal.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brubaker_Covered_Bridge,_southern_side_and_western_portal.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991057","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brubaker_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4976990"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/preble-county/brubaker-covered-bridge-75001527/"}