Photo Provided The Knowlton Covered Bridge restoration project is moving forward as Monroe County crews cut down the remaining timber needed for the project. County Commissioner Mick Schumacher said work to replace the damaged sandstone on the piers that support the bridge is set to begin soon.

WOODSFIELD — Despite a catastrophic collapse, a 136-year-old treasure in Monroe County is being revived.

The Knowlton Covered Bridge restoration project is moving forward as county crews cut down the remaining timber needed for the project.

“We are making progress,” Monroe County Commissioner Mick Schumacher said, noting that the project is set to be completed in about a year. “That’s without any delays or setbacks, which are always a possibility.”

Schumacher said the county harvested more than 100 local white oak trees last spring to supply timber for the bridge.

“We’re shy some white oak. We need more timber,” he said.

Schumacher said county crews planned to cut down 50 more trees last week at the old county home farm.

He said the county port authority has been storing the lumber until it is ready to be used.

“The builder is waiting to get the rest of the timber,” he said.

Schumacher said the county has contracted a local Amish sawmill to have the timber milled to the contractor’s specifications. He added that county crews have been working to clean up the site, and lawn care crews have been maintaining the area and clearing brush near the bridge.

“It was in pretty rough shape. Of course, the park side was pretty clean, but the other side needed a lot of work,” he said.

Schumacher said work to replace the damaged sandstone on the piers that support the bridge is set to begin soon.

“The piers and sandstone approaches are dry laid, which means no mortar or concrete was used to bind them together. The sandstone piers are dry stacked stones, which have remained in remarkable condition for their age. With the exception of a few trees which were growing out of the piers and approaches, the sandstone will require minimal work, “ he noted.

He said the piers were built more than 100 years ago by stone artisans.

“They have survived hundreds of floods, years of traffic and weather of all extremes and remain, to this day, straight as an arrow,” he said.

He said scaffolding is in place on the Old Camp Road side of the bridge and crews will start the restoration process there.

Schumacher said the restoration project started in 2016. The effort faced major setbacks after the bridge collapsed in 2019.

Schumacher said the Righter Co., a general contractor from Columbus, won the bid for the project and estimated that the work will cost $1.4 million. Schumacher said that using local timber has saved the county a lot of money on the reconstruction, noting that the Righter Co. had planned to purchase and haul white oak in from out of state.

Schumacher also said the county received a grant through the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program. He added that the county is still putting about $500,000 into the project.

The Knowlton Covered Bridge was originally built in 1887 with a span that stretched 195 feet across the Little Muskingum River, making it the second longest covered bridge in Ohio.

Schumacher is posting updates on the project on his personal Facebook page. He said that he plans to create a new page specifically for information and updates on the bridge.

Schumacher noted that he hopes to get a documentary crew to create a documentary about the history and restoration of the bridge. Schumacher said he has been in contact with a videographer from the local region who does not live in the county.

For more information about the Knowlton Covered Bridge, visit Schumacher’s Facebook page, email him at mick.schumacher@monroecountyohio.com or call the Monroe County Commissioners Office at 740-472-1341. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The commissioners meet at 9 a.m. every Monday at the courthouse in Woodsfield.

More information about the commissioners’ office can be found at monroecountyohio.com.