Coyote Creek Covered Bridge

The Coyote Creek Bridge, also historically known as the Swing Log or Battle Creek Bridge, carries Battle Creek Road over Coyote Creek near the small community of Crow, southwest of Eugene. Built in 1922, the 60-foot Howe truss structure is one of the smaller covered bridges in Lane County, notable for housed buttresses, ribbon window openings beneath the eaves, and rectangular portals. It originally served the historic Territorial Road of 1851, the first road built through Lane County and part of the state's early secondary road system, tying the bridge to Oregon's earliest pioneer travel routes; it was later bypassed as a through route once heavier truck traffic required a more direct highway. In February 1969, a snowstorm dropped more than three feet of snow on the bridge, and the accumulated weight collapsed the entire roof; crews sawed off the damaged rafters with chainsaws and left the bridge uncovered until a new roof could be built the following spring. Added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 1979, the bridge underwent a significant rehabilitation in 2003. It remains open today to light vehicle traffic and continues to serve as a rural crossing as well as a stop for hikers and sightseers.