Daytripping 2 Barns and Bridges

The Bicentennial Barn in Delaware County

Approximately 12,000 covered bridges once spanned American rivers, streams, cricks, and creeks.  And, at one time, Ohio boasted 3,500 covered bridges.  Today, Pennsylvania leads the country with 219 covered bridges and Ohio comes in second with 138.  I'm guessing that Robert James Waller might not have known these facts when he decided to write about the bridges of Madison County.

The first bridge that I stumbled across was the Chambers Road Bridge, the only covered bridge in my county.  In the past, there were 64 covered bridges in Delaware County, but this is the sole survivor.  It's near Olive Green, Ohio, which also was a place that I never heard of and stumbled through as I tried to get my GPS to function.  The bridge was originally built in 1874, 1882, or 1883 (depending on your source) by Everett S. Sherman and spans 73 feet across Big Walnut Creek.  It is a rare surviving example of a Childs Truss bridge.  If that means nothing to you (which was my situation), a truss is an architectural term for triangles made from wood or metal used for support.  Because, as everyone knows, a triangle handles stress well without distorting.

Nothing survives in tact for over one hundred years without some help.  The bridge needed repairs in 1957 after an accident.  What kind of accident?  It was hit by a truck.  How did that happen?  I don't believe a drunk driver could have found the bridge.  There must be a story, but I don't know it.  And then, the bridge needed some additional repair and renovation work in 1982.  The bridge was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1974.  Sadly, that didn't stop all sorts of graffiti in the interior of the bridge.

 space

The Mohican Covered Bridge, spanning the Mohican River, is the oldest and certainly the most recognized landmark at Mohican State Park.  The bridge was built in 1969 to replace the older one-lane truss bridge that had been there.  Mohican State Park is 1,110 acres of destination for anyone into hiking, fishing, and picnicking. It doesn't matter if you are into camping, cottages, or a lodge with 95 rooms (like me), all of this is available.  And, if by chance, you might feel a little cramped in with the size of the park, those in need of more elbowroom are in luck.  It just so happens that the park is surrounded by the Mohican Memorial State Forest.  It's a mere 4,795 acres for those into hunting, hiking, and bridal trails.  It is so not for me!

The park is gorgeous and it was a magnificent winding road that brought me to the covered bridge.  The landscape had a little assistance during the ice age in Ohio.  The final glacier to make its way into Ohio stopped in the vicinity of Mohican State Park forming a glacial boundary.  As the glacial ice melted, the runoff waters cut the Clear Fork Gorge into the sandstone.   It's the most amazing view in all of Mohican State Park if you have the right shoes and legs to view it.  If you are into a diversity of trees, Ohio wildlife, and birding, this park is for you.  If you're lucky, you may spot a wild turkey or bald eagle.

I came across a video that told the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps who rebuilt the depleted region and planted two billion trees in the 1930s.  It was a very exceptional thirteen-minute viewing.  I highly recommend it.
​space

It doesn't appear so long when looking at the bridge directly.  But, at 370 feet, it spans the Mohican River and is the second longest bridge in Ohio.  The bridge was long abandoned by the 1990s when local residents and businesses decided to make it a part of the Mohican Valley Trail.  At that time, it was not covered.  Skeptics of the project called the visionaries who wanted to cover the bridge "dreamers".  That's how the bridge got its name.  A rather clever in-your-face triumph, in my opinion. 

If part of your journey takes you to the trailhead of the pathway, you'll see a horse hitching post made from the original metal pipe used on the railroad.
​

BARNS    Both of my parents grew up on farms.  So, when I was a kid, I spent a lot of time in farm country and saw a lot of barns painted with Mail Pouch Tobacco logos.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, consider yourself a city slicker.  It wasn't until I sat down and did a little research on the subject that I learned that the last Mail Pouch artist was from Ohio.  Yep, Harley Warrick was from Belmont County, Ohio.  

Now days, in Ohio, the more famous barns celebrate Ohio's bicentennial in 2003.  In 1997, Ohio's Bicentennial Commission wanted some kind of project to generate statewide enthusiasm for the upcoming 200th anniversary of Ohio statehood.  Just like me, they'd seen a lot of Mail Pouch barns and they thought that a barn in each of Ohio's 88 counties might be a unique way to celebrate.  They had no idea how successful that idea would be!

But, they had to find an artist.

At that very time, a 19-year-old artist in Belmont County, Ohio, was making a name for himself in the local community painting barns.  He painted the logo of THE Ohio State University on his father's barn.  Grandpa liked it so much that he sent a photo to the local paper.  It made the front page!  And, it just so happened, that someone from the Bicentennial Commission was in town that day to see it.  The artist, Scott Hagan, was discovered and his life would never be the same.

​You may have noticed that Scott Hagan is from the very same county as the Mail Pouch artist, Harley Warrick. They lived a mere 15 miles from each other.  Certainly, one of life's magnificent twists of fate!  And, Warrick was more than happy to give the teenager some tips and supplies for the project.  Hagan still uses the scaffolding plank that Warrick gave him so many years ago.  

It took Hagan five years to travel 65,000 miles across Ohio with 645 gallons of paint and 100 brushes to paint all 88 barn logos. And, he did it the right way.  As I have learned with my murals, this is not a time to stay at a hotel and eat in a restaurant.  No, he stayed with the farmers, ate at their tables, and became part of their families.  That was evident when so many of these "family members" showed up to his wedding in 2000.
​
​The project took on an unexpected life of its own as Hagan painted his murals.  Usually, it took two days for him to complete each project.  What nobody ever imagined was Buckeyes from across the state traveled to the barns to watch paint dry.  Well, I guess they wanted to meet the artist and see the process.  But, nobody on the Ohio Bicentennial Commission ever imagined such a thing.  If you have a desire to see each barn and learn a little of their stories, I recommend Ohio's Bicentennial Barns with text by Beth Gorczyca and photography by B. Miller.

The birthday party for Ohio was in 2003.  If you had a birthday back then, you probably don't have the party decorations from that day.  The barn logos were never intended to last forever.  They were a celebration for that special day in Ohio history.  So, if you travel the state to locate these barn, you never know what you are going to find.  I understand this fact of life for an artist.  I've gone back to visit a few of my murals.  Interior works remains in near perfect condition.  Exterior art just doesn't have the same kind of shelf life.  The barn at the top of this page, in Delaware County, is still a destination for celebrations and weddings.  And, of course, the barn is in great condition.  I read that the barn in Franklin County, where Columbus is located, has been painted over. Horror! Recently, I traveled through Knox County and looked up their barn.  It was so badly maintained, faded and chipped, that I just couldn't take a picture of it.  It's safe to say, it had gone to the dogs.  But, just a few miles away in the county seat of Mt. Vernon, it's worth a stop to see their Fountain of Dogs.  Eighteen dogs spit water into a fountain aiming towards a golden bone.  It might have been interesting if one of the dogs wasn't spitting, but whoever designed the fountain doesn't share my sense of humor.  

PS     The very day I posted this blog, I thought it might be polite to write to Scott Hagan.  Perhaps he would enjoy reading the blog and I wanted to make sure it was okay to use his photo.  So, I wrote to him.  I also suggested that if he was ever interested in taking a lunch break while he painted, I would love to swap stories with him.