National Register of Historic Places

Lowell Bridge

Lowell, Lane County, Oregon
Listed
November 29, 1979
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
79002085

About this property

Lowell Bridge is a covered bridge in Lowell, Oregon, United States. The original bridge was built in 1907. The current bridge was built in 1945. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Before the Lowell Bridge was constructed, pioneer Amos Hyland settled on the Middle Fork Willamette River in 1874, and established the town of Lowell, which he named after his birthplace of Lowell, Maine. The founding of the town coincided with construction of a railroad through the settlement. At the site of the current bridge, Hyland operated a ferry across the river. The ferry operated until 1907, when a bridge was built by Nels Roney, who was also the builder of the Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House in Eugene. An accident occurred in 1945 when a truck caused major damage to the bridge. It was replaced by the current bridge, which is the widest in the state. In 1953, in preparation for the flooding expected to be caused by the Dexter Dam in two years, the entire bridge was raised 6 feet (1.8 m), and the floor replaced. Dexter Dam inundated the area, creating Dexter Reservoir, when it was completed in 1955. The engineers' water level calculations proved to be correct: the water clearance was about 2 feet (0.6 m). On November 29, 1979, the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places. A concrete bypass of the bridge was under construction at the time, when a dump truck with its bed up drove through, causing major damage to the bridge. Unlike the prior damage, the bridge was repaired with new roof braces and portal boards before the bypass was opened a few weeks later. The Western Federal Lands Highway Division, Lane County, the Oregon Department of Transportation, and the United States Forest Service built an interpretive center in 2006 for $1.2 million. It includes several signs explaining the history of Lane County's covered bridges, and the area around Lowell and Lowell Bridge. List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon

Location

Lowell, Lane County, Oregon
43.90909, -122.77938

Categories

ENGINEERINGTRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Lowell Grange
Industrial
0.9 mi
Parvin Bridge
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2.2 mi
Unity Bridge
Industrial
2.5 mi
Pengra Bridge
Industrial
5.1 mi
Clearwater, Jacob, House
Industrial
11.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Lowell Bridge listed on the National Register?

Lowell Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Lowell Bridge?

Lowell Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Lowell Bridge?

The period of significance for Lowell Bridge is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Lowell Bridge?

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