Everett Covered Bridge (Cuyahoga Valley National Park)

Everett Covered Bridge is located on Furnace Run west of the namesake community in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The structure is thought to have been originally built sometime between the 1870s and early 1880s. The span was swept away by floods in 1975 and was eventually rebuilt as a National Park Service project in 1986. The structure is the last Covered Bridge in Summit County and until recently served as the junction of several roads.

The history of Everett Covered Bridge

Everett Covered Bridge lies to the west of the namesake community and the Ohio & Erie Canal on Furnace Run. The exact date of construction of the structure is unknown but it is thought to have been built during the 1870s or early 1880s. The design of the bridge is based off the 1869 Smith Truss design.

Everett Covered Bridge can be seen along Everett Road (blue pin) at Furnace Run on the 1903 United States Geological Survey Map of Akron. The structure is shown to serve as the junction of Wheatly Road, Everett Road and Oak Hill Road.

Everett Covered Bridge was damaged by floods during in 1913. The then damaged structure can be seen prior to repairs in a National Park Service photo.

Everett Covered Bridge was damaged by a truck in 1970 but repaired. Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area was declared in December 1974 which brought the structure into scope of responsibility for the National Park Service. The bridge swept downstream by floods in 1975. Numerous local interests began raising funds to reconstruct the bridge. The reconstructed span was completed by the National Park Service in 1986 and reopened to traffic.

Everett Covered Bridge can be seen again functioning as the fork in Everett Road, Oak Hill Road and Wheatley Road on the 1994 United States Geological Survey map of Peninsula. During October 2000 Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area would become a National Park.

Portions Everett Road, Oak Hill Road and Meirs Road west of Furnace Run were recently closed to traffic. These segments of road have since been repurposed as the Riding Run Trail and Perkins Bridle Trail.

Part 2; a visit to Everett Covered Bridge

Everett Covered Bridge can be found by following Everett Road west of Riverview Road to a trailhead.

From the trailhead it is a short walk over the abandoned portion of Everett Road to the bridge.

West of Furnace Run the now overgrowing branch in Oak Hill Road (left) and Everett Road (right) can be seen.

The same junction during Fall 2014 before the asphalt had been removed.

East of Furnace Run the original beginning westbound Wheatley Road can be easily found.

Comments

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process. The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents. Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes. When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood. The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71. The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway. Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...