Hildreth Covered Bridge - Hills Bridge, Marietta Ohio
According to the record books of the Southern Ohio Covered Bridge Association, Inc., this fine old bridge was built in 1881, but another source says the bridge could have been built as early as 1871 or 1872 as county records show that several contracts were let for covered bridges over the Muskingum River at that time. Unfortunately, further historical data on this bridge is lacking. The signs ever the portals call this the Hills Bridge, but it is known to historians and covered bridge buffs as the Hildreth Bridge.
The Hildreth Bridge is one of three covered bridges that remain over the Muskingum River, today in Washington County, and each of these three spans has a different truss type. At one time at least eight covered bridges spanned the Muskingum River, in Washington County, We consider the Hildreth Bridge to be one of our most imposing roofed spans. It perches high above the river on magnificent cut-stone abutments and piers. The height of these piers is necessary because of the damaging floods that can occur on the Muskingum. The fact that there are two different building dates given for this bridge could indicate that this might just not be the first covered bridge on this site. Flooding in the 1870s took out at least one other Muskingum River covered bridge and two more were destroyed in a 1907 flood.
Hills/Hildreth Bridge was built in 1878 by Hocking Valley Bridge Works of Lancaster, Ohio for $13. per lineal foot. The historic name was Lafaber's Mill Bridge.
Information from research in county commissioners journal provided by Miriam Wood, Historian, Southern Ohio Covered Bridge Association, August 1986.
Bridge Description
The structure under consideration is a one-span wooden truss covered bridge spanning the Muskingum River in Newport Township section 36, five miles east of Marietta in Washington County, Ohio. This fine old bridge has vertical, high-boarded siding, a metal roof, straight portals finished with battens, and cut-stone abutments and piers.
The historical name of this bridge is the Hildreth Bridge and is built on the Howe truss plan patented in 1840 by William Howe of Spencer, Masse The Howe truss consists of wooden braces and counterbraces with iron tension rods as the truss verticals. Howe's introduction of the use of iron rods as tension members was a great innovation in bridge-building and really marked the end of the all-wooden bridge truss. The railroads were quick to recognize the advantages of being able to tighten up the iron tension rods after a few years if the bridge began to sag. In just a short time the Howe truss became tremendously popular for both railroad and highway bridges.
The Hildreth Bridge is a 12-panel Howe truss, with a 130' 6" truss length and an overall length of 140' 6". The roadway width is 14' and the overall width of the structure is 17' 8". The height of the trusses is 17' and the overhead clearance is 14'. The truss has four iron tension rods on the end panels and two of these rods on all other panels. The portals are straight and sharply cut back at the base. The steel guard rails of the open wooden approach ramps extend several feet inside the bridge. The flooring of the approach ramps is laid crosswise and the one-layer flooring of the bridge itself is laid diagonally. There is a small roofed window on each side of the bridge.
South Portal, west side looking northeast (1975)
