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Although covered bridges have largely vanished over the decades, Ohio still has quite a few of them. Among local counties, Preble County has by far the most with seven, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.

That makes Preble County an ideal site to host the Smithsonian Institute's traveling exhibit, "Covered Bridges: Spanning the American Landscape," which runs at the Preble County Historical Society from Saturday through Sept. 2 at the Preble County historical society in Eaton.

The exhibit is divided into several sections, which not only inform visitors about covered bridges, but echo their appearance.

Covered bridges were built largely because with a roof and sides over the span, the trusses that support the bridge would last longer — and it was cheaper to repair the roof and the sides than it was to repair the trusses.

Eventually, however, with the rise in the use of steel, covered bridges slowly fell by the wayside — and fell apart.

Exhibit hours will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The Preble County Historical Society also will provide local entertainment.

There also will be a lecture series with the following schedule:

Saturday: Dr. Dario A. Gasparini, Ph.D. Topic: "Diagonals and counterdiagonals — understanding covered bridge forms."

Sunday: Old Fashioned Independence Day Celebration, Children's bridge activities.

July 8: John Smolen, Smolen Engineering. Topic: Covered Bridge Rehabilitation and New Construction. Also, a tour of Preble County covered bridges.

July 15 : Andy and Bruce Stewart, Architectural Reclamation, Topic: Covered Bridge Construction Methods and Techniques.

July 22: Daryl Michael. Topic: Vanished Preble County Covered Bridges. Ron Mattox, Gresham, Smith and Partners. Topic: Rehabilitation of Ohio's Covered Bridges.

July 29 : Artist and Photographer Covered Bridge Exhibition. Local artists will have the opportunity to display and sell their bridge art.

Aug. 5: Roberts Covered Bridge Restoration Committee. Topic: Roberts Covered Bridge — The Granddaddy of Them All.

Aug. 11-12: Christopher Marston, Historic American Engineering Record. Topic: HAER National Covered Bridges Recording Project.

Aug. 19: Miriam Wood, David Simmons, Bill Miller. Topic: Covered Bridges of Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia.

August 26: Steve Simmons, Preble County Engineer. Topic: Reminiscing — What's Your Story? Children's bridge activities hosted during the afternoon.

Sept. 2: Covered Bridge Preservation. The finale will feature the Labor Day Weekend Covered Bridge Poker Run.

how to go

WHAT: Covered bridges traveling exhibit

WHERE: Preble County Historical Society, 7693 Swartsel Road, Eaton

WHEN: Runs Saturday through Sept. 2.

COST: Free.

MORE INFO: (937) 787-4256