Wiswell Road Covered Bridge, Windsor Mills Ohio
The first settlers to the township of Windsor arrived in June 1799 and March 1800. However, it was not until 1811 that the township and village of Windsor Mills was established. It remained a recognized village until 1913 when the U.S. Post Office was closed.
The Phelps Creek Gorge was found to be the best water power site in the township. There first developed a mill, Skinners Mill, on the bank of the gorge. A dam, which still stands, was constructed of sandstone blocks. It was laid up without mortar and remains in the same condition as when it was built. The mill itself is no longer standing.
Since most other buildings were north of Phelps Creek Gorge, and the only existing way to reach them was by a southeasterly road running miles out of the way, a covered bridge was contracted for and built around September 1867. The Wiswell Road Bridge, still is use today, linked the southern area to Stoneville a quarrying center. To the north of the bridge is the Millbank Inn, used over the years as a hotel, post office, general store, skating rink, and dance hall. The bridge allowed this and other buildings to become a vital center of life in the village of Windsor Mills.
The bridge nestles among hardwoods and hemlocks, wild flowers and ferns, and creates a beautiful picture for artists, photographers, nature lovers and all who visit it.
The bridge is of the Town Lattice truss design. Other than some minor repair work, the bridge is unaltered.
The bridge is made of white pine with hand made iron pins and is situated more than 30 feet above Phelps Creek Gorge on the original cut stone piers. There are two piers and two abutments of stone blocks (2' x 2' x 4') quaried from the wall of the gorge nearby. The chisel marks may still be seen from the road above. There are three spans of 33', 42.3' and 40.3'. The overall length is 120-1/2'; clearance 10'6" and roadway 12.5'. Three different types of masonry have been used through the years. The original fieldstone carefully laid by the original be tested cut stone from the nearby quarry to strengthen it, and the be more recent.
View from south (1973)
