Adams Covered Bridge - San Toy Covered Bridge, Malta Ohio

Date added: June 15, 2023 Categories: Ohio Bridges Covered Bridges

Looking north at the side of the bridge (1998)

Of the 3,500 identified timber truss railroad, canal and vehicular bridges built in Ohio, by 1998 less than 4 percent, or 135 bridges are extant, and only 61 carry traffic. The Adams, or San Toy Covered Bridge, one of five covered bridges remaining in Morgan County, and one of only three on its original site, exemplifies the multiple kingpost truss covered bridge in Ohio. By far the most common of all wooden truss designs in Ohio, the multiple kingpost truss became known across the state as the Buckingham truss, so named after Catherinus Buckingham, bridge builder and state Adjutant General.

Until the late 1940s, Morgan County had 15 covered bridges, but construction of Burr Oak Lake and surface coal mining have taken a toll on all but four covered bridges. Three of these spans, the Barkhurst Mill Covered Bridge, Helmick Mill Covered Bridge, and Adams Covered Bridge remain on their original sites. One other span, the Wolf Creek Covered Bridge was moved from Rosseau to the Morgan County Fairgrounds in 1953. Another covered bridge was moved from nearby Noble County to Campsite D on Brannon's Fork.

During the first half of the 19^th century, several truss designs were employed on Ohio's timber truss bridges. A truss is the arrangement of wooden beams and braces, usually triangular in layout, that forms a rigid framework to support its own weight plus the load of the outer shell and the weight of the travelers. The multiple kingpost consisted of a series of vertical ports and braces and was developed mainly to accommodate longer spans. Buckingham's Y Bridge at Zanesville (1832) was so widely admired that the truss design became euphemistically known as the Buckingham in honor of its builder.

The old Adams, or San Toy, Covered Bridge was built (according to local residents) in 1875. The only records found in the Morgan County archives refer to the road as being a "State" road called "Chapel Hill Road". This raises the good possibility that the bridge was built by the State of Ohio. The property owner at the site in 1875 was Mr. Josiah W. Adams.

Although steel supports and a new roof were installed in 1994 as a maintenance measure, the original timber trusswork remains intact.

Bridge Description

Adams Covered Bridge is a single-span, wooden truss covered bridge that crosses over San Toy Creek in Union Township, Section 6, 10 miles west of Malta on County Road 16. The bridge was closed to traffic in 1987. Although the bridge is located on a dead end road in a relatively deserted area, in 1925 it was at the edge of a booming coal mining town called San Toy. It has been written that, at that time, Sunday Creek Coal Company employed more than two thousand people at their San Toy mine. At this time there are only about a half dozen residences in the area.

This bridge is known as the Adams or San Toy covered bridge and was built in 1875. It has vertical, boarded siding, projecting portals, cut sandstone abutments, and a corrugated metal roof. The truss system is a multiple kingpost design.

The overall length of the bridge is 66 feet, which includes two 4-foot portals at each end. The roadway width is 12 feet, with an 11 foot 6-inch height clearance. The siding is of random-width boards. The floor system consists of runners placed on two layers of wood planks laid at right angles to the trusses. In 1994, extensive maintenance work was done. Steel supports were installed, new roof lath was installed, and a new tin roof was placed on the structure.