The Dey Road Bridge is a historic

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

that spans the

Tiffin River The Tiffin River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 19, 2011 tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio in the United States. Headwater tributaries of the ri ...

near the city of

Defiance Defiance may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Defiance'' (1952 film), a Swedish drama film directed by Gustaf Molander * ''Defiance'' (1980 film), an American crime drama starring Jan-Michael Vincent * ''Defiance'' (2002 film), a ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Built in the 1900s, it has been designated a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

. In 1835, an early

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or '' toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...

across the Tiffin was built at the nearby community of Brunersburg, but it was soon destroyed by a flood. The current bridge is a Pratt

through truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or s ...

that was manufactured by the

Massillon Bridge Company The Massillon Bridge Company, most commonly abbreviated Massillon Bridge Co., was located in Massillon, Ohio and founded by Joseph Davenport in 1869. The company became incorporated in 1887 and remained in operation through the early 1900s. Steel ...

and built in 1906. Built on concrete supports, it is constructed primarily of iron. In 1907, it became a local landmark for

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

purposes when a

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

surveyor placed a

benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Experimental benchmarking, the act of defining a ...

on its northwestern

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end that provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

. In 1999, the bridge was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, qualifying because of its historically significant engineering. By that time, the bridge was vacant and not in use. Now known as the "Old Dey Bridge", the bridge is closed to road traffic, although pedestrians are still permitted to use it. The bridge is one of several locations included as points of interest on a proposed Defiance city strategic plan.City of Defiance Strategic Plan and 2030 Land Use Plan
, City of Defiance, 2011-03, 21. Accessed 2012-12-17.

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places Bridges completed in 1906 Buildings and structures in Defiance County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Defiance County, Ohio Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Pedestrian bridges in Ohio Former road bridges in the United States Pratt truss bridges in the United States Iron bridges in the United States 1906 establishments in Ohio Defiance, Ohio