{"nrhp_refnum":"77001042","name":"Kidwell Covered Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"1 mi. N of Truetown","address_restricted":false,"city":"Truetown","county":"Athens County","state":"OH","lat":39.455767183000034,"lon":-82.10358060899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-04-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-span wooden Howe truss covered bridge over Sunday Creek on Monsrat Road, one mile north of Truetown in Dover Township, Athens County, Ohio, built in 1880.","why_significant":"The bridge is a surviving example of the Howe truss, a design that used iron tension rods in place of wooden verticals. It replaced an earlier bridge lost to a flood and still carries daily traffic. It is also a local landmark tied to nearby mills, a small academy and a coal mine of the late 1800s.","narrative":"Spanning Sunday Creek on Monsrat Road, one mile north of Truetown, this covered bridge was built in 1880 after a flood washed out an earlier crossing. It is a ten-panel Howe truss, about 96 feet long, with vertical board siding, straight portals, cut-stone abutments and a metal roof that likely replaced shingles. The Howe design, patented in 1840, used iron tension rods that could be tightened to straighten and strengthen the structure. The bridge takes its name from the Kidwell family, whose grist and saw mills operated nearby from 1839. Other neighbors included Weethee College, a small academy founded in 1865, and the Montserrat coal mine, the likely source of the road name. The mills, college and mine are gone, yet the bridge remains in good condition, painted deep red, and carries daily traffic between two state routes. Local residents regard it as a landmark and a reminder of the area's pioneer past.","period_of_significance":"1880","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Howe truss covered bridge","criteria":[],"status_note":"Stated to be in good condition, unaltered on its original cut-stone abutments, and still carrying daily traffic; the metal roof is a probable replacement for the original shingles.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.296904-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/77001042.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001042/ef3610f07e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001042/ef3610f07e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jaknouse","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kidwell_Covered_Bridge1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jaknouse</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kidwell_Covered_Bridge1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986745","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidwell_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q58904061"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/athens-county/kidwell-covered-bridge-77001042/"}