![]() One bridge's interior was covered with spray painted graffiti. Very few of the existing ones are used anymore. Some have been moved to private land or parks, some are gone and I could not locate two of them. Spanning five counties in two weekends, I was disappointed to see that many of the bridges had vanished. Recently, I went on assignment to photograph covered bridges. However, today in central Ohio covered bridges are very hard to find. More than 12,000 covered bridges have dotted the American landscape, with approximately 3,500 in Ohio. Located near Lewistown, Ohio on CR 13, the 125 foot long bridge crosses the Great Miami River. The McColly Covered Bridge was built in 1876. Now they were being built with windows, laminated floors, asphalt surfaces and interior whitewashing. But with World War I came a shortage of steel and the wood bridges again became the norm. The invention of the automobile encouraged builders to use steel. Builders began to use a combination of iron and wood trusses. An uncovered bridge would last approximately 20 years but a covered one could last 100 years.įloods washing away the bridges caused the need for redesigning them. The cover served other purposes also-it kept horses from being spooked by the waters underneath, it was a reprieve from weather to the weary traveler, and it was used for political rallies, religious meetings, a night's sleep for tramps, town meetings, poker parties, sweethearts' rendezvous, drunken revels, dances, and even rainy-day luncheons took place on the covered bridge. The original reason for the cover was to protect the bridge's trusses and decks from snow and rain, preventing decay and rot. By the 1870s, most bridges were covered at the time of construction. Most of America's covered bridges were built between 18. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in 1832 by ice and high water. The longest covered bridge in history was built in 1814 in Lancaster County, Pa., at a distance of 5,960 feet more than a mile. At least 1,500 were built from 1820 to1900 and Pennsylvania has the largest number of covered bridges in the nation: 219 in 40 of its 67 counties. Although Connecticut boasts the first covered bridge in America, Pennsylvania is usually foremost in the minds of covered bridge lovers. The later ones were also built with appearance in mind. Built in 1883, the 73 foot long bridge crosses Big Walnut Creek.Įarly bridges were built for utility. The Chambers Road Covered Bridge is located in Delaware County, Ohio on Chambers Road (TR63). This prompted taxpayers to build bridges that would be free to all travelers after a toll to help offset costs. Many of these were run by merchants holding the monopoly on the local economy with the fees from the ferries. Before there were covered bridges there were ferries to transport horses, passengers and buggies to the other side of the rivers. The next two were built years later in 18 in Oregon City, Oregon, but were washed away by floodwaters in 1853. ![]() Named the Waterford Bridge, it spanned the Hudson River in New York and lasted for 105 years. ![]() In America the first covered bridge was built in Connecticut in 1804 by Theodore Burr. The history of covered bridges can be traced as far back as 780 B.C. Back in Time Ohio's Vanishing Covered Bridges
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