Hizey Covered Bridge
Why it's listed
This covered bridge carries Poplar Creek Road over Poplar Creek in Liberty Township, east-northeast of Pickerington in Fairfield County, Ohio. James W. Buchanan of Basil, now Baltimore, built it in 1891 using the Burr truss plan. The structure has a single 77-foot clear span, vertical high-board siding, a metal roof, cut-stone abutments and projecting portals. Because it was built with camber, it keeps a slight humpback profile. Fairfield County once had more covered bridges than any other Ohio county, and Liberty Township had 14 in the 1950s but only 5 remained by the time of the nomination. Of the five bridges once spanning Poplar Creek nearby, only this one survives. Buchanan learned bridge building from Jacob Brandt and drove wedges behind the braces to create camber. The bridge is valued as a rare survivor in an area once rich with such crossings and as a good example of Burr truss construction.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the bridge is one of the few covered spans left in an area that once had many, in a county that once had more covered bridges than any other in Ohio. It is also presented as a fine example of the Burr truss and of the building skills of James W. Buchanan, a master bridge-builder.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 76001423, listed October 8, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | E of Pickerington on SR 235, Pickerington |
|---|---|
| County | Fairfield County |
| Listed | October 8, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76001423 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1891 |
| Architect / builder | James W. Buchanan |
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | County-owned; described as still in good condition, with a metal roof probably replacing the original shingles, concrete reinforcement at the south abutment, and an added wooden post under the northwest corner. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 39.89815, -82.66907 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 76001423.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q58904056
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.