ISREAL TWP. — The former Preble County engineer told a large crowd Sunday he hopes he has left families a “legacy” with the new Hueston Woods covered bridge.

The red and white wooden covered bridge was the backdrop for an afternoon filled with speeches, a balloon release and a parade across the newly dedicated bridge that spans Four Mile Creek at Camden-College Corner Road in the state park.

The bridge was the vision of former county engineer J. Stephen Simmons, who presided over the festivities.

The county secured 80 percent of the almost $2 million it cost to build the bridge from the federal government, a reason some of the event’s speakers said the project has been in the works since 2007.

After Simmons wielded a giant red-handled scissors and snipped the ribbon, he said his dream had come true. As a boy he said he frequently played near a covered bridge and has always had a “love and affinity” for the historic structures — most of which were built in the 1800s.

“Little did I know that I would be the caretaker, the steward of the covered bridges in Preble County,” he said. “It was always a dream of mine that someday we would have our own brand new covered bridge here in the county.

“It creates such an excitement,” he continued. “Other than our Pork Fest, there is nothing else that brings more visitors to our county. The covered bridges are our heritage, they’re our moniker so to speak.”

During the afternoon event Scott Meyers with Brumbaugh Construction of Arcanum, the company that built the bridge deck, told about 150 attendees when they won the contract they went searching for people who crafted the wooden covers. They found a man in Wisconsin who built the bridge up there first, then dismantled it and trucked it down here.

Meyers called his staffers up to the podium, singing their praises and telling the crowd this was a labor of love.

“What I started to see with them was the commitment, the dedication, the pride and the passion for this project,” he said.

Dorothy Stebbins, who came from West Alexandria for the event, said she also loves the unique structures.

“It’s a little bit of history,” she said. “It’s neat to see one be built my age. Now I’ve seen the old ones and the new ones.”