Beautiful covered bridge in Ashtabula county. There are 19 covered bridges in the county if in northern Ohio you should check them out read more

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Because I love covered bridges so much, Chris planned a day-long driving tour of Ashtabula county's 16 covered bridges. Mechanicsville is interesting, but not my favorite. A covered bridge is a bridge, often single-lane, with enclosed sides and a roof. They are typically wooden. Early bridges were made of wood, especially where it was a plentiful resource. Wooden bridges tended to deteriorate rapidly from exposure to the elements, having a useful lifespan of only nine years. Covering them protected their structural members, thus extending their life to 80 years or more. Covered bridges were also constructed to be used by travelers during storms and inclement weather. Most wooden covered bridges employ trusses as their key structural design element. A popular design was the Brown truss, known for its simplicity, but others were also used. Covered bridges are generally considered old-fashioned, and appeal to tourists, but the purpose is twofold: (1) covered bridges appear similar to barns and it is easier to transport cattle across them without startling them, and (2) to build a structure for weather protection over the working part of the bridge. A bridge built entirely out of wood, without any protective coating, may last 10 to 15 years. Builders discovered that if the bridge's underpinnings were protected with a roof, the bridge could stand for 70, or even 80 years. The existing covered bridges have been renovated using concrete footings and steel trusses to hold additional weight and to replace the original support timbers.Some covered bridges, such as the one in Newton Falls, Ohio and Elizabethton, Tennessee, also feature an integrated covered walkway. Ohio is so unique with its covered bridges. It was awesome to visit the bridges one by one -- to see Ohio's beauty from the back roads. read more

Mechanicsville Road Bridge - Local Flavor Near Me - Geneva, Ohio

A bridge with history-! They have a lot of cute covered bridge sales near this bridge. This bridge has been a known secret to mostly locals for a long time. Most people don't know it exists and it isn't on many maps. It has been restored and a main road runs along side it in case you don't trust the looks of it--haha. read more

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