You may have been one of the last people to see this bridge in it's original state. I stopped by today and the bridge is gone. An Amish crew who have reconstructed the other covered bridges in this area are building a new covered bridge. It's an interesting process if anyone wants to stop by and check it out.
I'm covering this story for public radio. Interested in hearing people's thoughts on this process and their history with this bridge. Contact me at rwilde140@gmail.com
I am a Knoxville, Tennessee, resident and retired journalist whose father, Joseph Edward Dean, late of Arkansas, was born in January 1900 in Xenia, Ohio. He grew up near this 1883 covered bridge, just off Old US 35. The bridge was a landmark when, as a lad, Joe explored the Dean family farm near Ballard Road. Joe was a fifth-generation descendant of Daniel Dean, an early Greene County pioneer from Ulster who brought his family from Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, to Ohio in 1812. A miller, he settled on 2,000 acres divided later among his 11 children. His progeny included my great-great grandfather, the elder Joseph Dean, who built a substantial home, still standing at 199 Ballard Road. Also born there was Joseph Newton Dean who, as a teenager, enlisted to fight with the 40th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. A lawyer, he later became Ohio Probate Judge for Greene County. Nearby is Dean Cemetery where Daniel, our progenitor, now lies with his Virginia-born wife, Jannett Steele Dean. I hope Ohio will preserve this historic structure over Caesar's Creek for generations to come.
It's nice to see this old bridge is still standing. I grew up in the area and haven't seen the bridge in over 40 yrs., but it still looks the same. The bridge was a turnaround point on our long school bus ride. I live in New Jersey now..you don't see covered bridges here. Enjoyed the photo.
This report says the bridge was reconstructed with both original and new parts:
http://xeniagazette.com/top-stories/8541/ballard-road-covere...
I visited by driving on Rt. 35 last month, and the bridge (which leads only to a round turnaround) was still closed to traffic with construction barricades at the north end.