Lynchburg Covered Bridge, Lynchburg Ohio
The Lynchburg Bridge was built in 1870 by John C. Gregg of Hillsboro in Highland County, a well-known bridge builder in the area. The cost of the bridge was $3,138.66. The bridge is on the Highland-Clinton County line and construction and maintenance costs were shared equally by the two counties. In 1969, the old bridge was bypassed by a new steel structure a few hundred yards downstream and the fight began to save the covered bridge. The Lynchburg Society for the Preservation of Historic Landmarks was formed at this time with the intention of taking over the care of the bridge. A park was planned at the bridge site. However, ownership of the bridge still rests with the two counties and nothing has been done about a park at the site. At the time it was bypassed, the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic. When the windstorm of February 1974 damaged the roof structure so badly that it was decided to close to bridge to pedestrian traffic until repairs could be made. No repair work has been done as yet.
The bridge takes its name from the village of Lynchburg which in turn, was named by its early settlers for their home of Lynchburg, Virginia. Lynchburg is a historic area. There was an Indian encampment here as late as 1806 and there was a battle nearby between Simon Kenton and Tecums h. 'The old covered bridge is the original bridge on the site where there was once a grist and sawmill. The Lynchburg Bridge is one of the few village bridges left here in Ohio and one of only three covered bridges in the Highland-Clinton County areas. In addition to being one of only eight Long trusses left in Ohio, it is our only inter-county covered bridge. Despite the heavy damage to its roof, the Lynchburg Bridge still stands sturdy and straight.
Bridge Description
The Lynchburg Bridge is a one-span wooden truss covered bridge spanning the east fork of the Little Miami River at Lynchburg, Ohio, on the Clinton-Highland County line. This bridge has straight portals, a metal roof (much missing), vertical, high-boarded siding, and cut-stone abutments.
This bridge was built in 1870 by John C. Gregg of Hillsboro, Ohio, using the Long truss plan. This truss was patented in 1830 by Col. Stephan H. Long of the U. S. Army Topographical Engineers. The Long truss consists of wooden braces and counterbraces in the form of an X between wooden verticals. This is considered to be the first panel truss and the first truss into which mathematical calculations entered. The Lynchburg Bridge is a 10 panel Long truss with an overall length of 120 and a truss length of 104'. The roadway width is 16'5" and the overall width of the structure is 20'5". The overhead clearance is 12'6",. The truss verticals are 7" x 7½". The braces are 2-7 ¾" x 7" and the counterbraces are 1-6 ½" x 2 ¾". The upper chords are 3-11" x 5 ½" and the lower chords are 1-11" x 8" and 2-11" x 5½". There are steel I-beam supports under the bridge about 10' out from each abutment. The floor is one layer, laid lengthwise and resting on 11" x 3" joists.
The condition of the Lynchburg Bridge is poor because of damage to the roof and rafters in a windstorm in February 1974. Much of the roof and roof structure was torn off at this time. Some of the siding is also gone. The trusses of the bridge seem sturdy, however, and there is no lean to the structure.
Interior view, looking west, showing south trusses (1974)
