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Reviews
| Covered Bridges: Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia. By Miriam F. Wood and David A. Simmons; photography by B. Miller. Wooster, Ohio: Wooster Book Co., 2007. vii+292 pp., maps, diags., numerous color illus., index. $39.95 hb (ISBN 1-59098-035-2).
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Covered bridges have long been of great interest to historians, artists, photographers, and the general public. Older Ibbbbrs may have grown up on the first generation of covered-bridge books, including Eric Sloane's American Barns and Covered Bridges (1954) with its classic pen-and-ink sketches and Richard Sanders Allen's regional studies. While Sloane concentrated on evocative illustrations, Allen's text-heavy studies included a limited number of contemporary and historic black-and-white photographs illustrating a few covered bridges in each state.
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The present volume is part of recent spate of covered-bridge books that draws in the reader with their color photography. The cover image is a Bill Miller photograph of central Ohio's Hanaway Covered Bridge shown at the height of fall color. The authors of this study are both experts in their subject. Miriam F. Wood (SIA) has studied covered bridges for more than 50 years, has nominated more than 50 covered bridges to the National Register of Historic Places, and has worked as a consultant for the Ohio Department of Transportation. David Simmons (SIA) of the Ohio Historical Society has written numerous articles on technological history, has planned bridge conferences, and has hands-on experience in covered-bridge restoration. Photographer Bill Miller has photographed more than 400 covered bridges in 20 states.
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The book's introductory essay, titled "Reflections on Covered Bridges," summarizes the introduction of the bridge type into the country and the region, briefly discusses bridge technology, mentions prominent covered-bridge builders, and concludes with mention of recent covered-bridge construction in Ashtabula County, Ohio. A brief bibliography (heavy on Allen's work) concludes the introduction. The bulk of the book contains entries for each extant covered bridge in the three states, arranged by region in Ohio and by county in the two remaining states. Each entry fills one or two pages, includes one or more color photographs, and includes a paragraph description of the construction and history of the bridge. Each section concludes with a thumbnail photo of each bridge, a capsule description including length, truss type, and date of construction as well as directions to the bridge from a major route or intersection. The volume concludes with a construction chronology of the bridges and an index by covered-bridge name.
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The authors of the book should be commended for the comprehensiveness of their study. Unusual for such studies, the volume not only includes entries for 19th-century bridges but also for bridges erected in the late-20th century. However, the authors and the publication designers appear to have been somewhat uncertain about the purpose of the book.
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The directions to each bridge are clear and would be a valuable addition if the book were of a size that could easily be carried on covered bridge hunting expeditions. Examples of such volumes include Rick L. Berfield's Covered Bridges of New York State (Syracuse University Press, 2003) or Joseph C. Nelson's Spanning Time: Vermont's Covered Bridges (New England Press, 1997). However, the large format of the book under review (11.25 inches square) does not lend itself to that use. Each entry notes the type of truss employed. The first time the authors mention each truss type, they provide a brief discussion of the development of that truss type. This approach can be problematic to the novice who finds out, for example, that the Sarvis Fork Covered Bridge in Jackson County, West Virginia, is a Long truss with added arch but cannot easily determine the configuration of that truss type. Other covered-bridge studies such as Brian J. McKee's Historic American Covered Bridges (ASCE Press and Oxford University Press, 1997) provide this information in a small sketch with each entry.
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Covered Bridges: Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia also includes Historic American Engineering Record drawings scattered among its pages. Printed in blue ink, these drawings are apparently viewed more as a design element than as a source of information. Potentially the most useful illustration is a cutaway drawing of a portion of the Long truss of the Eldean Covered Bridge that appears on the cover page. This illustration cries out for interpretation of the parts of typical covered bridges, the structural engineering principles that governed their construction, and the methods used to erect covered bridges. Some of this information is included in the introductory essay but not in a well-organized form. The other element lacking in the introduction is a discussion of the development and characteristics of each of the truss types.
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The highlight of the book is Miller's color photographs, which are uniformly of high quality. In a few cases, such as when the only photo provided is a portal view, it might be useful to have one or two additional images. Few interior images of bridge trusses are provided. The structure-specific histories are a welcome element not found in some other covered bridge studies.
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| The book's purpose is alluded to on the dust jacket: "Covered Bridges: Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia contains the stories of 171 historic and significant bridges; their histories and legends, and who built them, their construction particulars, and the directions to each bridge.... The book is a compendium of information—but more than that—it is a celebration of the beauty and human ingenuity of covered bridges." This worthwhile goal was fulfilled, but with some reorganization and a little additional information, this book could have been substantially more useful to the reader. |
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