tattoo empek empek

Covered bridges have been around since ancient times.

In Babylon, some 780 years before the birth of Christ,

people have used the practicality of covered bridges

in their lives by using roofs and ceilings to protect

important bridges from the deteriorating effects of

the weather. They also served a militaristic purpose

as covered bridges are good spots to defend a palace

from invading forces because stone walls and ceilings

were obviously perfect in stopping arrows and spears.

America came to love this style of building bridges

since the early nineteenth century when Theodore Burr

built the first one in New York. People were

fascinated by the practicality and durability these

bridges offer. Two more were built in Oregon after the

first one but unfortunately floods destroyed them a

year after they were built. That did not deter the

rest of America from adapting the style however, as

the succeeding years since that time saw the building

of thousands all over America which ushered the era of

the covered bridges.

Covered bridges were the best and most practical

solution in connecting towns and villages growing on

both sides of a river. Ferries were the norm before

bridges became common but they were not good for a

developing economy. Owners of ferries could charge

whatever they want because they had the monopoly in

transportation. This led to a growing demand from

local townspeople to build bridges.

The local governments at the time, seeing the

importance of bridges, then started to put the

construction as their top priority. Putting on roofs

and walls made to protect the bridges was seen as

protecting the taxpayer’s investment since covered

bridges lasted up to three times longer than ordinary,

exposed ones.

They also serve a myriad of purposes, from providing

temporary shelters for travelers stuck because of bad

weather to a rendezvous point for secret lovers. No

matter what the purpose, the rest of the country fell

in love with covered bridges that the ones left now

are protected by law and seen as historic pieces worth

preserving.

There were at least 12,000 covered bridges all over

America at one time and there were around 3,500 of

them found in Ohio. However these days, because of

rapid commercialization, the availability of new

construction materials, and the durability of

cement-made bridges, wooden covered bridges are slowly

disappearing and have become very hard to find. Some

of the historic covered bridges were moved to private

estates and parks, while others could no longer be

found. Vandalism and arson have also played a role in

the destruction of covered bridges in Ohio where at

least 10 were destroyed in the last 20 years.

However these days great effort has been made in

protecting and preserving these bridges. In Fairfield

County, one can still see a covered bridge built in

1883. Though it was moved and partially reconstructed,

the same materials and styles were used to preserve

its historical integrity. College campuses, private

lands, fairgrounds, public parks, and government-owned

lands are a few places where you can still find a few

of these bridges still being used.

Covered bridges in Ohio are treated as public property

and therefore maintained and protected using public

funds. Form 3500, only over a hundred covered bridges

are left in Ohio where people are now taking on the

fight to preserve them. Ohioans has enjoyed and

benefited from covered bridges since they were first

made, and now the great-grand children of the state

are doing the best they can to stop the slow

disappearance of these historic landmarks that has

helped shape the economy and history of America.

• 
• 
• 
• 
•