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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Rushville, Fairfield County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: OH/35-23-70x
County: Fairfield County
Township: Richland
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Rushville
Crosses: Rush Creek
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 102'
Roadway Width: 12'
Built: 1845
Builder: Jonathan Coulson
When Lost: Jun 1928
Cause: Removed
Latitude: N39 45.83
Longitude: W082 26.38
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: Between Rushville and West Rushville on CR77.

Rushville Bridge, Richland, Fairfield County, OH Built 1845 Removed 1922
Todd Clark Collection

Comments:
14-panel truss. Removed by the State. This was a double barrel bridge. A steel pony span crossed the railroad tracks paralleling Rush Creek. The bridge was apparently in place before the railroad came through on the west side of the creek, forcing the west abutment to be made into a pier and the addition of a steel pony truss. Early pictures of the bridge identify the build date as 1842 by Jonathan Coulson. There is a story that Jonathan Coulson, the bridge’s builder, taught Jacob “Blue Jeans” Brandt his trade. Brandt is credited with rebuilding the bridge in 1892. Per the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, April 21, 1928, the bridge was built in 1842 by N. B. Colyon. It was to be razed in the near term to make way for a replacement. Demolition was slated to start in June.

Sources:
Clark, Todd. Information received by email, April 2010
Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, April 21, 1928, p.1.
Bridges and Byways, Ohio Historic Bridge Association, Volume XXXIII, Number 1, Spring 2019, page 3
Wood, Miriam. Ohio Covered Bridge Index, Fairfield County