{"nrhp_refnum":"84003749","name":"Johnson Road Covered Bridge","other_names":["35-40-06"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Johnson Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Petersburg","county":"Jackson County","state":"OH","lat":38.95872535800004,"lon":-82.78759887399997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-08-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-span wooden covered bridge carrying Johnson Road (T.R. 291) over the Little Scioto River in a rural area southwest of Petersburg, Jackson County, Ohio, built about 1870 by Robert W. Smith.","why_significant":"The bridge is an example of a distinctive wooden truss type developed by Ohio bridge builder Robert W. Smith, built on his 1869 patent (#97,714). It is the only structure of this truss type known to exist in the state today, which makes it a rare example of 19th century wooden bridge technology.","narrative":"Johnson Road Covered Bridge carries a township road across the Little Scioto River in an isolated rural part of southwest Jackson County, Ohio. Built about 1870, it is a single-span wooden bridge with a six-panel Smith truss, 70 feet 11 inches long overall, with a roadway about 14 feet wide. It has vertical siding, a gabled metal roof, projecting portals and diagonal floor planks, and it rests on its original cut stone abutments. The truss follows Robert W. Smith's 1869 patent, with inclined braces and counterbraces meant to give strength with minimal material. Smith, born in Miami County in 1833, founded the Smith Bridge Company, later based in Toledo, and built many bridges across Ohio and the Midwest. This bridge is the only known surviving example of this patent type in the state. Most of Jackson County's 19th century covered bridges were Smith trusses, reflecting the firm's reputation in the area.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Robert W. Smith","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition, unaltered and on its original site; the form marks the property as occupied and used for transportation.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.501008-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/84003749.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003749/f2d1124438-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84003749/f2d1124438-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"aw135093","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Covered_Bridge_3.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">aw135093</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Covered_Bridge_3.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71989456","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Road_Covered_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q58904050"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/jackson-county/johnson-road-covered-bridge-84003749/"}