{"nrhp_refnum":"78002169","name":"Bowman Mill Covered Bridge","other_names":["Rush Creek Covered Bridge","Readington Covered Bridge"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"S of New Reading on Sr 86","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Reading","county":"Perry County","state":"OH","lat":39.798120751000056,"lon":-82.36097827599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-02-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-span wooden multiple kingpost truss covered bridge carrying Winegardner Road (County Road 86) over Rush Creek, one mile south of New Reading in Perry County, Ohio. It was probably built about 1880.","why_significant":"The bridge sits at what was a busy 19th-century milling center and was part of the area's transportation system when the Bowman family's grist and saw mills flourished. It is one of several Ohio covered bridges with arched chords giving a pronounced camber. It is still in daily use and valued locally.","narrative":"This wooden covered bridge carries Winegardner Road over Rush Creek about one mile south of New Reading, Perry County, Ohio. It has two spans, a metal roof, vertical board siding, cut-stone abutments and a stone center pier that was added later, probably after originally being built as a single span. The trusses are a six-panel multiple kingpost design with an open center panel, and slightly arched chords give the bridge a humpback profile. The overall length is 81 feet. The bridge is associated with a 19th-century milling center, where the Bowman family ran grist and saw mills just north of the crossing. Its builder is said to have been Lank Bowman, and it dates to about 1880. It was an important link in the local transportation system when the mills were active and remains in daily use. In 1975 the county painted it red, white and blue with stars and the dates 1776-1976 on the portals.","period_of_significance":"c.1880","architect_builder":"Lank Bowman (supposedly, per the Southern Ohio Covered Bridge Association)","architectural_style":"Multiple kingpost truss covered bridge with open center panel","criteria":[],"status_note":"In good condition, well maintained and still in daily use, carrying light traffic; repainted red, white and blue in fall 1975 for the Bicentennial.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.871454-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/78002169.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002169/bf3a2980b6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002169/bf3a2980b6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowman_Mill_Covered_Bridge.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bowman_Mill_Covered_Bridge.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990884","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowman_Mill_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q58904045"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/perry-county/bowman-mill-covered-bridge-78002169/"}