Skip to main content

Mechanicsville Covered Bridge - Ohio

Image
By


One of the oldest of the nineteen covered bridges in Ashtabula County, Ohio is the Mechanicsville Covered Bridge, also known as the Mechanicsville Road Covered Bridge. Built in 1867 and located near Austinburg on a short drive down Mechanicsville Road, this 154-foot-long Howe truss designed covered bridge crosses the scenic Grand River and includes an arch. The arch contains fifteen layers of wood that are encased by the large beams that form the X of the Howe truss. There is also a window above the portal for both entrances of the bridge. The bridge is also part of the Ashtabula County Covered Bridge Trail and the Ashtabula County Barn Quilt Trail, giving visitors a chance to take in the rural heritage of this corner of northeastern Ohio.

With a covered bridge that is over 150 years, the Mechanicsville Covered Bridge has seen its share of improvements over the years. While the bridge has been bypassed by a modern crossing, piers were added in 1996 as a means to stabilize the covered bridge. A larger renovation to the covered bridge took place in 2003 and was reopened to traffic in 2004. The walls and the approaches were painted white and on the northwestern exterior wall of the covered bridge, a painted quilt block has been hung in decoration.

At one time, there was a community located near the covered bridge that was also called Mechanicsville that lent its name to the bridge. While the community of Mechanicsville has been lost to the archives of time, the bridge remains for us to visit and enjoy.



The Grand River, which has been designated by the State of Ohio as a wild and scenic river.

Small window above the covered bridge portal.

A look at the modern covered bridge piers.

A small footpath leads to the side of the covered bridge.


Inside the covered bridge. If you look closely, you can see the X pattern on the top of the structure.

The modern bridge closely parallels the covered bridge over the Grand River.

Nice side profile of the Mechanicsville Covered Bridge. There are also windows on the side of the bridge that lets some light in.

A parting shot of the covered bridge. You can drive across the bridge in a car or a bike, but trucks and buses are prohibited.


How to Get There:




Sources and Links:
Tourism Ohio - The Ashtabula County Covered Bridge Trail
Ashtabula County Visitors Bureau - Mechanicsville Road Covered Bridge
The Pennsylvania Rambler - Mechanicsville Covered Bridge
The Historical Marker Database - The Covered Bridges Of Ashtabula County
DaleJTravis.com - Ohio Covered Bridges
Labels:
Location: Mechanicsville Bridge, Geneva, OH 44041, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned Fowler Avenue in Clovis, California

By
Originally Fowler Avenue in the city of Clovis had a brief discontinuation approaching Herndon Avenue.  Fowler Avenue traffic heading northbound was required to detour briefly onto westbound Herndon Avenue.  During 2001 this discontinuation was removed when Fowler Avenue was reconfigured to access the Sierra Freeway (California State Route 168) via an interchange.  This led to a segment of the original alignment of Fowler Avenue just south of Herndon Avenue to be abandoned.  Despite a shopping center opening over part of the original Fowler Avenue alignment in 2016 much of the abandoned roadway remains.   The history of the abandoned original alignment of Fowler Avenue in Clovis The original alignment of California State Route 168 departed downtown Clovis eastbound along Tollhouse Road.  This original alignment did not interact with Fowler Avenue at the Herndon Avenue intersection.  Fowler Avenue north of Tollhouse Road ran north to Herndon Avenue...
Post a Comment
Read more

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more