The Harra Covered Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge in Washington County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 1393. Located in western Watertown Township, about north of the community of

Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...

, the bridge spans the South Branch of Wolf Creek near the intersection of State Route 339 and Township Road 172. Among the bridge's more distinctive features are its

cut stone Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

abutments, its metal roof, and the vertical siding. Although it has been open for well over one hundred years, it remains in strong structural condition, and it served daily traffic into the late twentieth century. A single-

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan es ...

structure completed in 1875, the bridge was constructed under the leadership of

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

bridge builder William Meredith. One of his primary employees was

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

Billy Gamble, who used locally quarried stone to construct the

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

s. The source for this stone was the farm of James Harrah, whose name (minus its final letter) was given to the bridge. The plan for the bridge used the

Long truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension (mechanics), tensi ...

design; fewer than ten historic Long truss bridges remain in Ohio today. In 1976, the Harra Bridge was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, qualifying both because of its historically significant architecture and because of its importance in the history of Ohio., Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2010-12-22.

References

External links

{{Authority control Bridges completed in 1875 Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Bridges in Washington County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Ohio Wooden bridges in Ohio Tourist attractions in Washington County, Ohio Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Long truss bridges in the United States