Hune Covered Bridge, Dart Ohio
Hune Bridge was built in 1879 by Rollin Meredith for $7.17 per linear foot for yellow poplar on his plan #3. The historic name was Gallagher's Ford.
The Hune Covered Bridge takes its name from the Hune Family who were prominent settlers in this area. Lawrence Township was formerly a part of Newport Township which once formed the eastern third of Washington County. The township of Lawrence was formed in 1815 and a community known as the "Rittle Muskingum Settlement" grew up along both sides of the river in the area that later became known as Lawrence. William Hune, a prosperous tobacco farmer and stockman, came to this settlement and purchased large amounts of land until he had 525 acres with six or more settlers' cabins on it. Mr. Hune was instrumental in establishing the community later known as Lawrence. This town provided the early settlers of the area with all their needs as it had a grist mill, general store, sorghum mill, tannery, tie houses, packing houses, livery barn, stogie shop, church, the Hune school, dance hall, a broom maker, and the Lawrence Post Office which was located in the Hune residence. This house was also a wayside inn for travelers. For refrigeration of their meat, the people of the Lawrence area used an abandoned coal mine.
According to the late Dr. H. B. Hune of Caldwell, Ohio, Lawrence was a community that took care of itself. Dr. Hune remembered the building of the Hune Covered Bridge in 1877 by Rollin Meredith, a contractor from Marietta, Ohio. Mr. Meredith and his son, Edgar, boarded with the Hunes while building the bridge. The Hune boys and Edgar played together and watched with interest while the bridge was built. Dr. Hune said that the timber for the bridge was cut on the Hune farm and that the stone for the abutments was quarried there also.
Out of the once-thriving and bustling community of Lawrence, only the old covered bridge and the old wayside inn, known now as the Hune-Heldman House remain. This once active and productive area is a quiet and peaceful rural scene today. The old covered bridge still carries traffic. It is a fine example of the now rare Long truss plan and a fitting tribute to its builder, Rollin Meredith, a member of a well-known Washington County covered bridge building family.
Bridge Description
The bridge is a one-span wooden truss covered bridge spanning the Little Muskingum River in Lawrence Township section 6 on township road 34 just east of SR 26 at Lawrence, 1½ miles northeast of Marietta, in Washington County, Ohio. This fine old bridge has vertical, high-boarded siding, a metal roof, straight portals, and cut-stone abutments.
This is known as the Hune Bridge and was built in 1877 by Rollin Meredith using the Long truss plane The Long truss was patented in 1830 by Col. Stephan He Long of the U.S. Army Topographical Engineers. The Long truss is an all-wooden truss consisting of a series of braces and counterbraces forming an X between wooden verticals. The Long truss is considered to be the first-panel truss and the first truss into which mathematical calculations entered. The Hune Bridge is a 12-panel Long truss, 128" 10" long overall with a 122' 10" truss length. The roadway width is 14'1" and the overall width of the bridge is 17' 5", There is a 15' overhead clearance. Like the other covered bridges over the Little Muskingum River in Washington County, the covered wooden truss portion of this bridge sets on rather high cut-stone piers and there are open wooden approach ramps on each end leading from cut-stone abutments to the Piers and the main span. These wooden approach ramps are simple stringer construction and have no truss of any kind. They have wooden railings. Both ramps and bridge proper have a single-layer floor, laid crosswise. The portals on the Hune Bridge are straight, and the north portal is gracefully arched, while the south portal is cut diagonally. A sign giving the name of the bridge is above each portal.
As far as can be determined, the outward appearance of the Hune Bridge has changed little over the years. The present metal roof is probably a replacement for an original one of shingles. The bridge appears to have always been unpainted and has weathered to a soft gray color.
North portal east side (1976)
