Skip to main content

Fallasburg Covered Bridge - Michigan

Image
By


 
Built in 1871 by Jared N. Bresee for $1500, the Fallasburg Covered Bridge is a 100-foot-long Howe truss design covered bridge that crosses the Flat River in the historic village of Fallasburg, Michigan, just north of Lowell in Kent County. The bridge is 14 feet wide and 12 feet high. The Fallasburg Covered Bridge is one of just six covered bridges remaining in Michigan, the oldest covered bridge that sits on its original site, and one of only three covered bridges in the state that is open to traffic. One of the other covered bridges in Michigan that is open to traffic is the Whites Covered Bridge, located just a few miles north along the Flat River.

Signs at each portal provide caution of a $5 fine for riding or driving faster than a walk, which is typical of covered bridges of a certain vintage. Repairs throughout the years have allowed the covered bridge to remain open to vehicular traffic and even surmount damage caused in 2013 when a heavy truck drove over the bridge despite exceeding the three-ton load limit. Due to its historic nature, the Fallasburg Covered Bridge was listed with the Michigan State Register of Historic Places on February 12, 1959, and the National Register on March 16, 1972.

The Fallasburg Covered Bridge is located within Fallasburg Park, and not far from the bridge is the Fallasburg Historic District, which was designated as a Historical District with the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Fallasburg Village was founded during the 1830s by John Wesley Fallass, and there is a Fallasburg Village which is now a historic district. This includes twenty acres along the banks of the Flat River, the covered bridge, schoolhouse, cemetery, the Fallas House and Misner House museums, and the Orlin Douglass/Tower Farm.

The Flat River is peaceful and seemed to live up to its name when I visited.

Bridge portal and a sign mentioning a $5 fine for driving across the bridge faster than a walk. I wonder if those fines would still be charged today, or if the signs are there for its historical nature.

This seems to be a nice spot to have a picnic or go fishing.

The Fallasburg Covered Bridge meshes well with its natural surroundings on this spring morning.

Time to drive across the bridge and go to my next destination.



How to Get There:


Sources and Links:
Pure Michigan -  Fallasburg Covered Bridge, Pioneer Village & School
Fallasburg Historical Society - Welcome to Fallasburg
Kent County Road Commission - Kent County Road Commission Blog
DaleJTravis.com - Michigan Covered Bridges List
Labels:
Location: Fallasburg Covered Bridge, 13944 Covered Bridge Rd NE, Lowell, MI 49331, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crescent City Connection (New Orleans, LA)

By
The Crescent City Connection is a massive dual-span steel truss bridge that spans the lower Mississippi River at downtown New Orleans, about 95 river miles upstream from the mouth of the great river at the Head of Passes Light. If counted as a single bi-directional highway bridge, the parallel spans combine to form the single busiest bridge on the Mississippi River and its importance as a linchpin in the region’s transportation network cannot be overstated. While there have been various schemes over the years to construct bridges downriver from Algiers Point, this bridge has been the southernmost bridge on the Mississippi River since its initial construction in the 1950s. The years immediately following the end of World War II were a transformational period in the history of New Orleans. Already one of the great economic and cultural centers of the American Deep South, it was recognized at this time that major changes and improvements to the city’s transportation infrastructure would b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old US Route 99 through Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch

By
This summer I had a look into the alignment history of US Route 99 through the Tulare County communities of Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch.  While this slab below might seem like much it is one of the few remaining reminders of how US Route 99 was during the 1920s in Tulare County. This blog is part of the larger Gribblenation US Route 99 Page.  For more information pertaining to the other various segments of US Route 99 and it's three-digit child routes check out the link the below. Gribblenation US Route 99 Page Part 1; the history of US Route 99 in Tipton, Tulare, and Tagus Ranch Tipton and Tulare were both founded in 1872 as sidings of the Southern Pacific Railroad.  The Southern Pacific Railroad laid the groundwork for development of southern San Joaquin Valley.  Previous to the Southern Pacific Railroad travel via wagon or foot in Central California tended to avoid San Joaquin Valley in favor of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road.  The Stockton Los Ange...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 101 and California State Route 41 through Paso Robles

By
Paso Robles is a city located on the Salinas River of San Luis Obispo County, California.  As originally configured the surface alignments of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 converged in downtown Paso Robles.  US Route 101 originally was aligned through Paso Robles via Spring Street.  California State Route 41 entered the City of Paso Robles via Union Road and 13th Street where it intersected US Route 101 at Spring Street.  US Route 101 and California State Route 41 departed Paso Robles southbound via a multiplex which split near Templeton.   Pictured above is the cover of the September/October 1957 California Highways & Public Works which features construction of the Paso Robles Bypass.  Pictured below is the 1935 Division of Highways Map of San Luis Obispo County which depicts US Route 101 and California State Route 41 intersecting in downtown Paso Robles.   Part 1; the history of US Route 101 and California State Route 41 i...
Post a Comment
Read more