Rating:
2 votes

Bigelow Covered Bridge 35-80-04

Union County, Ohio

Photos 

Axe Handle Rd/ Bigelow Covered Bridge

Photo taken by Brian McKee in September 2005

Enlarge

BH Photo #133577

Map 

Street View 

Facts 

Overview
Covered bridge over Little Darby Creek on Axe Handle Road (CR 87)
Location
Union County, Ohio
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1873; rehabilitated 1990
Builder
- Reuben Partridge of Wilmington, New York/Marysville, Ohio
Design
Covered Partridge through truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 99.1 ft.
Total length: 100.1 ft.
Deck width: 12.5 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 12.5 ft.
Recognition
Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
Also called
Little Darby Covered Bridge
Ax Handle Road Covered Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.11584, -83.42517   (decimal degrees)
40°06'57" N, 83°25'31" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
17/293327/4443433 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Plumwood
Average daily traffic (as of 2015)
320
Inventory numbers
WGCB 35-80-04 (World Guide to Covered Bridges number)
ODOT 8032289 (Ohio Dept. of Transportation structure file number)
BH 28485 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of November 2018)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 69.9 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

19th Century (7,557)
Built 1873 (98)
Built during 1870s (1,105)
Covered (1,647)
Functionally obsolete (6,429)
Have street view (26,930)
NR-eligible (4,046)
Non-Select (300)
Ohio (3,391)
One-lane traffic (7,606)
 Open (39,880)
Owned by county (20,778)
Partridge truss (9)
Reuben Partridge (9)
Span length 75-100 feet (6,428)
Through truss (15,054)
Total length 100-125 feet (5,169)
Truss (32,771)
Union County, Ohio (42)
Wooden deck (6,069)

Update Log 

  • October 4, 2017: New photos from Bill Eichelberger
  • December 13, 2015: New photos from Jack Schmidt
  • September 11, 2015: New photo from Don O'Brien
  • September 9, 2015: New photos from Janis Ford
  • September 2, 2015: New photos from John Loxton
  • March 18, 2014: Updated by Dave King: Added street view & imported photo
  • November 22, 2013: New photos from Steve Conro
  • February 16, 2009: New photo from Brian McKee

Sources 

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Comments 

Axe Handle Road Covered Bridge
Posted February 23, 2012, by Janis Ford (jford3 [at] columbus [dot] rr [dot] com)

The bridge has a nice fresh looking paint job on it. Looks very different now, as it's red!

Axe Handle Road Covered Bridge
Posted January 3, 2012, by Tony Dillon (spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com)

Will,

This bridge is the one that is also called the Bigelow Bridge, so named for the Bigelow Cemetery located nearby.

The Partridge Truss is very fascinating indeed. I had read one time about the trouble Mr. Partridge had getting the patent approved due to officials feeling it looked too similar to the Smith truss. He was finally able to garner enough support stating that his truss was superior to the Smith that patent officials relented and granted him his patent.

I have not visited this one yet, but did have the chance a couple years ago to see the Bergstresser span in Franklin County.

Axe Handle Road Covered Bridge
Posted March 22, 2009, by Harold Scudder (hlscudder [at] cablespeed [dot] com)

I lived in close proximity to this bridge for 12 years. I am quite fascinated by the builder(Reuben Partridge) of this and other covered bridges in Union County, Ohio. I asked Christy Clark at Union Co. Visitors Bureau to try to find someone to write an article about Partridge and his work in that county. for next year's Covered Bridge Festival. Brian, would you be interested in doing such a service? I do know you are probably more familiar with these bridges than most anyone else. Harold