Covered Bridges
Swartz Bridge
The Swartz covered bridge, built in 1879, has a 96 foot span; it is of the Howe truss variety. It was restored in 1992/93 and 2018. The bridge crosses the Sandusky River near Harpster, Ohio -- from US 23 southeast of Upper Sandusky in Wyandot County, take state route 294 north to county road 130. The Swartz bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 (76001553).
Parker Bridge
Parker bridge is a 172-foot Howe truss span in Wyandot County, NE of Upper Sandusky, where it carries Everhart Road (township road 40) over the Sandusky River. It was built in 1873 and renovated in 1992 and 2018. The signs on the ends of the bridge identify J. C. Davis as the original builder while bricks just beyond one of the abutments identify William Morton as the builder who carried out the 1992 refurbishment. Parker bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 (75001558).
Did You Know...
The vertical iron rods in the interior photos kept Stephen Long from prevailing in a suit claiming Howe had violated his patent on a bridge truss of this basic design: "[Long] never got any satisfaction from the patent office, for the 'improvement' Howe claimed was a real step forward. In the Howe truss the upright wooden posts of Long's design were replaced by iron rods which could be adjusted with nuts and turnbuckles" -- and this overcame the problem of joints of the vertical members opening up under the weight of the bridge's load.
Covered Bridges of the Northeast, by Richard Sanders Allen