Historic Shade River Rainbow Arch Bridge, Chester, Ohio

At some point in the early to mid 1800s, a covered bridge was built across the Shade River on the west side of Chester, Ohio. Unfortunately in July of 1863 the bridge and a nearby roller mill were torched by Confederate General and traitor John Hunt Morgan. A new covered bridge was built later that year and stood until 1926 when the covered bridge was removed and replaced with this rainbow arch bridge. As of 2022 only 8 rainbow arch through truss bridges are known to be still standing in the State of Ohio.

This rainbow arch design originated in Germany and was implemented in the United States in the early 1900s.

This rare bridge is 107 feet long and spans the Shade River on Ohio Route 248. The bridge was altered in 2000 when the superstructure or base of the bridge, was removed and replaced with a pre-stressed concrete bridge. However, the original arches were retained and still shadow either side of the bridge even though they are only decorative and do nothing to support the bridge itself.

GPS Location: 39º05’14.4″N 81º55’30.8″W