# Root Covered Bridge

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The **Root Covered Bridge** is a historic wooden [covered bridge](/source/Covered_bridge) in the southeastern part of the [U.S. state](/source/U.S._state) of [Ohio](/source/Ohio).[1] Located off [State Route 555](/source/Ohio_State_Route_555) in far northern [Decatur Township](/source/Decatur_Township,_Washington_County,_Ohio), [Washington County](/source/Washington_County,_Ohio),[2] the bridge was built in 1878 in the [Long truss](/source/Long_truss) mode of [truss bridge](/source/Truss_bridge) construction.[1] Measuring 65 feet (20 m) in its single [span](/source/Span_(architecture)),[3] it spans the West Branch of the [Little Hocking River](/source/Little_Hocking_River).[4]: 1398

Constructed with [weatherboarded](/source/Weatherboarding) walls on stone [abutments](/source/Abutment) and equipped with a metal roof and elements of iron and steel,[5] the Root Bridge was named for the nearby community of Root Town, which has since become a [ghost town](/source/Ghost_town). Its builders were Charles and Alta Merydith, who built many other Washington County bridges;[4]: 1398 two other bridges in the county, known as the [Hune](/source/Hune_Covered_Bridge) and the [Harra](/source/Harra_Covered_Bridge) Covered Bridges, also employ the Long truss.[6] It is believed that the Merydith family heavily favored the style, because they were responsible for building both of those bridges.[4]: 1394 Throughout Ohio, only eight Long truss bridges are in existence today;[4]: 1393 the majority of Ohio's Long truss bridges are located in southern Ohio. Besides the importance of the Merydith family, this concentration is also likely due to the presence of one of the designer's agents in the region, who also functioned as a [general contractor](/source/General_contractor) for bridge construction in southern Ohio.[3]

In early 1975, the Root Covered Bridge was listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places),[1] qualifying because of its importance as a well-preserved example of historic engineering methods.[5] It was the first Washington County covered bridge to be listed on the Register, although five others — including the Harra and Hune bridges — have since received the same designation.[1]

## References

1. DeLorme. *Ohio Atlas & Gazetteer*. 7th ed. [Yarmouth](/source/Yarmouth,_Maine): [DeLorme](/source/DeLorme), 2004, 81. ISBN 0-89933-281-1.

1. Moore, Elma Lee. *Ohio's Covered Bridges*. [Charleston](/source/Charleston,_South_Carolina): Arcadia, 2010, 117.

1. Owen, Lorrie K., ed. *Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places*. Vol. 2. [St. Clair Shores](/source/St._Clair_Shores,_Michigan): Somerset, 1999.

1. , [Ohio Historical Society](/source/Ohio_Historical_Society), 2007. Accessed 2011-03-12.

1. [Covered Bridges of Washington County](http://www.mariettaohio.org/lib/images/PDF/Covered_Bridge_Brochure.pdf), Marietta & Washington County Convention & Visitors Bureau, n.d. Accessed 2011-03-12.

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