Gaysport Bridge (1889)
Description
It appears that the simple Pratt through and pony spans survived the 1913 flood and were reused for the 1914 bridge.Facts
- Overview
- Lost Pratt through truss bridge over Muskingum River on County Road 66
- Location
- Gaysport, Muskingum County, Ohio
- Status
- Destroyed by flooding
- History
- Built 1889 by Smith Bridge Co.; destroyed in 1913 flood
- Builder
- - Smith Bridge Co. of Toledo, Ohio
- Design
- Combination of Pratt swing, simple through, and pony trusses
West to east:
One 5-panel Pratt pony truss spans
One Pratt through truss swing span
Three Pratt through truss spans, one of 7 panels and two of 9 panels
One 5-panel Pratt pony truss span
All spans use pinned connections - Approximate latitude, longitude
- +39.80396, -81.89349 (decimal degrees)
39°48'14" N, 81°53'37" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 17/423513/4406380 (zone/easting/northing)
- Inventory number
- BH 96080 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Related Bridges
- Gaysport Bridge (1887) (Predecessor)
- Gaysport Bridge (1914) (Successor)
Sources
- Paul Plassman
- Muskingum County History
Comments
It's definitely a Smith Product.
Not only did Toledo move on from the Lattice portals to ones with X bracing, but by 1899 the verticals on their ponies were solid and tapered.
Transliteration errors of that kind aren't uncommon...
Not to mention that the webbed-lattice portal design appears much more characteristic of a late-1880's Smith span than a Toledo one from the late 1890's, when the portals by then seem to have incorporated a less complex design with larger members.
I am somewhat skeptical of the 1899 date for this bridge as that would mean there was a ten-year gap between the destruction of the covered bridge in 1889 and its replacement. Given that the numbers 1889 and 1899 are only one digit off, I have to wonder if the 1899 date is an error.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/oh/muskingum/bh96080/
Definitely 1889 or thereabouts then.