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Bennett Mill, Greenup County

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Inventory Number: KY/17-45-01x
County: Greenup County
Township:
Town/Village: Lynn
Bridge Name: Bennett Mill
Crosses: Tygarts Creek
Truss type: Modified Wheeler or Warren
Spans: 1
Length: 145'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1875
Builder: B.F. & Parmeley (sic) Bennett
When Lost: 2003
Cause: Rebuilt/Replaced
Latitude: N38 37.84
Longitude: W082 55.61
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 8.2 miles south-southeast of jct US23 on KY7, 0.1 miles left on Tygart's Creek Rd. (KY3112). South-southeast of South Shore.

Bennett Mill Bridge, Lynn, Greenup County, KY Built 1875 , Rebuilt 2003
Traugott Keller Photograph, November 22, 1953, NSPCB Archives

Comments:
Bennett Mill Bridge over Tygarts Creek was built in 2003 to replace an earlier covered bridge. It is the only Wheeler truss known to exist. The original bridge was built by B. F. Bennett and his brother Pramley to accommodate customers at their mill. The stone for the bridge abutments came from a dismantled iron furnace located nearby. Although an 1855 construction date was generally accepted, the Wheeler truss wasn't patented until 1870 making an 1875 date more probable. Wheeler evidence discovered by Brian McKee of the Ohio Historic Bridge Association (OHBA) & Joseph Conwill of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges (NSPCB). After being damaged in a flood in March 1997, it was rebuilt and raised three feet. The bridge has vertical siding. A 1937 survey sheet exists for the original bridge.

Sources:
Kentucky Historical Marker #1076
White, Vernon. Covered Bridges, Focus on Kentucky, 1985, pages 76-80
Database of Kentucky covered bridges compiled by Robert W. M. Laughlin
Laughlin, Robert W. M. and Melissa C. Jurgensen. Covered Bridges of Kentucky, 2007, page 119
Wood, Miriam F. & Simmons, David A.. Covered Bridges: Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, 2007, pages 239-240, 249

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