{"nrhp_refnum":"75001552","name":"Root Covered Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"0.5 mi. N of Decaturville on SR 6","address_restricted":false,"city":"Decaturville","county":"Washington County","state":"OH","lat":39.342502429000035,"lon":-81.75436120499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-03-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-span wooden Long truss covered bridge carrying County Road 6 over the West Branch of the Little Hocking River, about one-half mile north of Decaturville in Decatur Township, Washington County, Ohio. The original form dates it to 1888.","why_significant":"The bridge is built on the now rare Long truss plan patented in 1830 and was made by well-known local covered bridge builders. It also marks the vanished community of Root Town and a once heavily traveled state road. A reviewer noted its historical significance is somewhat limited, but accepted it.","narrative":"Root Covered Bridge is a single-span wooden covered bridge on County Road 6, about half a mile north of Decaturville in Washington County, Ohio. It crosses the West Branch of the Little Hocking River and is 70 feet 6 inches long, with vertical board siding, a metal roof and cut stone abutments. Its structure follows the Long truss plan patented in 1830, a design that was popular for about a decade before the Howe truss replaced it. The bridge was dated to 1888 and credited to Alta and Charles Meredith, local builders who also built two other Long truss bridges in the county. A later update gives the builder as Rolla Merydith, with stonework by David Gill. The bridge replaced a ford that often flooded, and it served a road once called the McConnellsville to Hills Landing State Road. It is named for the lost community of Root Town. A local covered bridge club painted it, and the bridge has since been by-passed.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Alta and Charles Meredith (1974 form); a 1986 update names Rolla Merydith as builder and David Gill for the stonework","architectural_style":"Long truss covered bridge","criteria":[],"status_note":"Bridge is now by-passed (1986 update); the 1974 form describes it as unoccupied and altered, with a local club caring for it.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.503922-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001552.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001552/510172ae39-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001552/510172ae39-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Bwsmith84 (talk)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Root_Covered_Bridge.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Bwsmith84 (talk)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Root_Covered_Bridge.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71991939","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7366547"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/washington-county/root-covered-bridge-75001552/"}