Halloween morning, Cam and I set out for Historic Hopewell Cemetery, which seemed like the right way to spend the spookiest day of the year. Hopewell is no ordinary country graveyard. The Hopewell Associate Reformed Church and Cemetery was founded in 1808 in a log building, which was replaced in 1826 by the brick church that still stands. The original acre is estimated to hold more than 1,000 graves, and it became the second-largest burial ground for Revolutionary War soldiers in Preble County. Church members who served in the Civil War are buried there too. Cam and I walked among headstones so old the names had nearly worn away, then headed down Camden College Corner Road. Under a sky so blue it looked painted on, the road took us straight into a bright red covered bridge with white trim in Hueston Woods State Park. We had to stop. Cam leaned on the weathered wooden fence and gave me his best grin for the camera, then we walked through the whole thing and listened to our footsteps echo off the timbers. Afterward I looked up the bridge and learned that this young one was built in honor of a much older one. The oldest covered bridge in Ohio was only about 20 miles up the road in Eaton. Cam and I agreed it was time for another adventure.

The Youngster: Hueston Woods Covered Bridge (2012)
The Hueston Woods Covered Bridge is only 14 years old. It was dedicated on June 23, 2012, more than 100 years after the last covered bridge was built in the county. It uses Burr Arch truss construction, patented in 1804, and spans 108 feet over Four Mile Creek in Hueston Woods State Park. Two 6-foot walkways along the sides give walkers safe passage and a scenic view, which is how Cam and I got our up-close look. The design was deliberate: a Burr truss with an arch was chosen in homage to another covered bridge in Preble County, the Roberts Covered Bridge. At the dedication, one local official noted that the county now had “the oldest Theodore Burr design and the newest Theodore Burr design.” The park manager said it quickly became the park’s new focal point and gathering spot, and after watching folks stop for photos in the fall colors, I can see why.
Address: 7667 Camden College Corner Rd, College Corner, OH 45003
Website: https://ohiodnr.gov/go-and-do/plan-a-visit/find-a-property/hueston-woods-state-park

The Granddaddy: Roberts Covered Bridge (1829)
Twenty miles north in Eaton, we found the bridge that inspired it all. Orlistus Roberts got a contract from the U.S. government and began building a covered bridge about two and a half miles south of Eaton. Roberts died before the bridge that bears his name was finished, and James Campbell completed it. Its three burr-arch trusses, built of native oak and poplar, support a double roadway, so it has two side-by-side tunnels that look like a pair of barn doors. It’s considered Ohio’s oldest covered bridge and the oldest remaining double-barreled covered bridge in the United States. Only six double-barreled bridges remain nationwide. The old bridge has survived plenty. On August 5, 1986, it was set on fire. It was rehabilitated using the historic timbers, with the charred edges sandblasted, and the burned remnants are still there for walkers to see. After nearly 160 years at its original spot, it was moved to a site in Eaton near Crystal Lake over Seven Mile Creek on September 20, 1990.

The new home suits it. Crystal Lake, a little dam and a pretty park sit on one side, and a golf course sits on the other. Cam decided the Canada geese on the lakeshore needed chasing. The geese disagreed, and so did our shoes, since we stepped in what felt like every goose dropping in Preble County. We laughed the whole way back to the bridge, walked through both barrels, and ran our hands over timbers that were cut when Andrew Jackson was president. In a single Halloween we went from a church graveyard older than Ohio’s oldest covered bridge to the newest covered bridge in the county and then to the oldest one in Ohio. Cam’s verdict: the old bridge wins, but the geese win overall.
Address: Across from 310 S. Beech Street, Eaton, OH 45320
Website: https://www.cityofeaton.org/214/Roberts-Bridge