Skip to main content

Mechanicsville Covered Bridge - Ohio


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

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I-40 rockslide uncovers old debates on highway

The Asheville Citizen-Times continues to do a great job covering all the angles of the Interstate 40 Haywood County rock slide. An article in Sunday's edition provides a strong historical perspective on how the Pigeon River routing of Interstate 40 came about. And perhaps most strikingly, in an article that ran just prior to the highway's opening in the fall of 1968, how engineers from both Tennessee and North Carolina warned "...that slides would probably be a major problem along the route for many years." On February 12, 1969, not long after the Interstate opened, the first rock slide that would close I-40 occurred. Like many other Interstates within North Carolina, Interstate 40 through the mountains has a history prior to formation of the Interstate Highway System and was also a heated political battle between local communities. The discussion for a road that would eventually become Interstate 40 dates back to the 1940's as the idea for interregional high

Mines Road

Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County.  The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte.  The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.  Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail).  La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora.  The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced from Bates Station owner/operator George Ba