Zoarville in Tuscarawas County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Zoarville Station
Fink Through Truss Bridge
Photographed By David Tschantz, circa 2007
1. Zoarville Station Bridge Marker
The Zoarville Station Bridge is a rare survivor of the earliest period of iron bridge construction in the United States, an era when unprecedented railroad expansion gave American bridge builders an international reputation for innovation. German immigrant Albert Fink first developed this truss design for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the early 1850s. Charles Shaler Smith, a prominent civil engineer and Fink's former assistant, designed the bridge with patented features that improved on Fink's original design. His firm, Smith, Latrobe & Company of Baltimore, Maryland, built this example in 1868 as a highway bridge over the Tuscarawas River in Dover. it was moved to this site in 1905 and abandoned in 1940. The Lebold family donated the bridge to the Camp Tuscazoar Foundation in 1997 for preservation and restoration. Of the hundreds of Fink Truss bridges built in the 1800s, the Zoarville Station Bridge is the last of its kind known to exist.
Erected 2000 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, the Longaberger Company, the Camp Tuscazoar Foundation, and the Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 10-79.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Bridges & Viaducts • Industry & Commerce
this page online
Location. 40° 34.765′ N, 81° 23.574′ W. Marker is in Zoarville, Ohio, in Tuscarawas County. Marker is on Ohio Route 800 near Ohio Route 212, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mineral City OH 44656, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Dover Dam (approx. 1.8 miles away); Trailhead (approx. 2.6 miles away); Ohio and Erie Canal (approx. 2.6 miles away); Welcome To Zoar (approx. 2.7 miles away); The Zoar Hotel (approx. 2.7 miles away); Zoar Town Hall / Zoar and The Ohio & Erie Canal (approx. 2.8 miles away); The Cow Barn Foundation (approx. 2.8 miles away); Zoar Historic District (approx. 2.8 miles away).
Regarding Zoarville Station. The bridge itself is approximately 1/4 mile southeast of the marker.
Also see . . .
1. Zoarville Station Bridge. Library of Congress website entry:
The Historical American Buildings Survey record for the bridge.
Photographed By Mike Wintermantel, March 15, 2015
2. Zoarville Station Marker
2. Zoarville Station Bridge. The Camp Tuscazoar website entry:
Information on the bridge, its restoration, placement on the National Register of Historic Places and additional photos. (Submitted on October 29, 2010.)
Photographed By Joseph Elliot, 1992
3. Zoarville Station Bridge - View Across Deck
This image, courtesy of the Historical American Building Survey, shows the bridge as it appeared several years prior to its restoration.
Photographed By David Tschantz, September 2007
4. Zoarville Station Bridge After Restoration
Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 9, 2010, by David Tschantz of Smithville, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,429 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on October 9, 2010, by David Tschantz of Smithville, Ohio. 2. submitted on March 16, 2015, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3. submitted on October 17, 2010. 4. submitted on October 20, 2010, by David Tschantz of Smithville, Ohio. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.
