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Lowell in Lane County, Oregon — The American West (Northwest)
 

Lowell Covered Bridge

Protecting the Past

 
 
Lowell Covered Bridge Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Douglass Halvorsen, October 21, 2012
1. Lowell Covered Bridge Marker
Inscription. At the turn of the 20th century, wagonloads of settlers and supplies traveling along the old Oregon Central Military Wagon Road stopped here to board Amos D. Hyland's ferry to cross the Willamette River. As more and more settlers traveled the route, locals petitioned for a bridge to bypass Hyland's expensive ferry. In 1907, Lane County officials hired Oregon bridge builder "Nels" Roney to construct a covered bridge.

The original Lowell Bridge lasted over 30 years, until increased wear and damage from truck traffic prompted replacement. The old bridge was replaced in 1945 with a new bridge built bu Lane County bridge foreman Walt Sorenson. It was covered two years later. The bridge's size (a 165-foot span and 24-foot width) was designed to accommodate the heavy logging-truck traffic of that era. Wood used to construct the bridge likely came from the nearby Willamette National Forest. Longtime area residents remember the days when trucks waited in line, three or four at a time, to haul their loads of Douglas-fir through the bridge toward Springfield.

In 1953, the Army Corps of Engineers was finishing construction of Dexter Dam, just downstream of the Lowell Bridge. When complete, the dam would create a reservoir that would threaten the bridge. Guided by engineers, Walt Sorenson supervised the raising of the bridge
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seven feet. Their calculations proved accurate, and the reservoir has never risen closer than two feet from the bottom of the bridge.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Bridges & Viaducts. In addition, it is included in the Covered Bridges series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.
 
Location. 43° 54.547′ N, 122° 46.769′ W. Marker is in Lowell, Oregon, in Lane County. Marker can be reached from S Pioneer St. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Lowell OR 97452, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Building a Bridge (here, next to this marker); Frontier Life (here, next to this marker); a different marker also named Frontier Life (a few steps from this marker); Lowell Prospers (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Lowell Prospers (a few steps from this marker); Touring the Past (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Elijah Bristow (approx. 8.7 miles away); Bristow Monument (approx. 8.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lowell.
 
Lowell Covered Bridge image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Douglass Halvorsen, October 21, 2012
2. Lowell Covered Bridge
Lowell Covered Bridge Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Douglass Halvorsen, October 21, 2012
3. Lowell Covered Bridge Marker
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on January 20, 2018. It was originally submitted on January 18, 2018, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. This page has been viewed 197 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on January 18, 2018, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024