Historic Jack's Hollow Covered Bridge

What Made It Special

Unlike many surviving covered bridges that sit in parks or beside county fairgrounds, Jack's Hollow still carried vehicles over a small creek — Kents Run — in a quiet hollow of Madison Township. The approach down gravel Township Road 108 through open farmland felt like stepping back a century. At just 60 feet (some measurements put it at 64), it was intimate enough to walk the entire span in a minute, with the creek audibly tumbling beneath the plank floor. Photographers prized the setting in autumn when the hardwood hillsides flanking the bridge erupted into color.↗↗↗

Its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places confirmed its architectural significance. As one of the last Multiple Kingpost bridges in Perry County — alongside Hopewell Church, Parks South, and Bowman Mill — Jack's Hollow represented a nearly vanished engineering tradition that predates iron and concrete bridges.↗↗

The Bridge Is Gone — What Remains

Google Maps marks the location as permanently closed, and Jack's Hollow is listed on LostBridges.org, the national database tracking covered bridges that have been destroyed, demolished, or otherwise lost. The exact circumstances of its final demise are not publicly documented in detail, but the loss means the site at the coordinates above now holds only a modern crossing and a quiet creek. Visitors can still drive to the spot on Township Road 108, pause over Kents Run, and picture what once stood there for 140 years.↗

The site continues to attract a small but steady stream of heritage travelers — the Maps listing has 24 reviews averaging 4.5 stars and 79 photos, many from people who remember the bridge intact and posted their memories after hearing of its loss. The emotional resonance of a gone-but-not-forgotten landmark keeps the page alive for anyone searching Perry County covered bridges.↗

Nearby Covered Bridges Still Standing

Perry County retains three other historic covered bridges within a short drive of the Jack's Hollow site. The Hopewell Church Bridge (1874) and Parks South Bridge (1883) are both Multiple Kingpost trusses north of the village of Somerset, about 15 minutes south. The Bowman Mill (Redington) Bridge (1859), the oldest in the county, sits at the Perry County Fairgrounds west of New Lexington. A half-day loop connecting these three surviving bridges plus a stop at the Jack's Hollow site makes for a rewarding rural drive.↗↗

Getting There and Visiting the Site

The bridge site lies roughly five miles northeast of Mt Perry along Township Road 108 (also called Madison Road). From the village, head north on Gratiot Road (CR 34) off State Route 204, turn east onto Kroft Road (CR 67), then north onto TR 108. The road is narrow gravel in places, suited to passenger cars but not large RVs. There is no parking area, interpretive sign, or visitor facility at the site today — just a roadside pull-out where the creek crosses beneath a modern span.↗↗

The best time to visit is late October or early November when the mixed hardwood canopy above Kents Run turns gold and crimson. Weekday mornings offer the quietest experience. The area is open and exposed; bring layers and sturdy shoes if you plan to walk the creek bank.