Historic Mill Hollow Bridge to Come Down – July 1964

Mill Hollow is one of my favorite places on this planet. Besides its nostalgic appeal to me as the place where my family first learned to tent camp in the 1960s, I also visit it frequently as it's less than ten minutes from where I live in Vermilion. Thus it's no surprise Mill Hollow has been a favorite topic on this blog, with 15 posts featuring the beloved Lorain Country Metro Park.

Sixty years ago, the big news was that the historic (but outdated) bridge in the park over the Vermilion River was going to be replaced, as noted in the article above from the Journal of Thursday, July 16, 1964. Accompanying the article is a map showing the various ways of accessing the park with the bridge closed.

"The birds and the animals at Bacon Woods, Brownhelm, are as lively as ever this week, but it may take a bit of driving to see them," begins the article.

"As of Wednesday, the historic Mill Hollow bridge was closed to traffic. A new bridge is being built.

"A sign at the top of the Mill Hollow switchback hill states: "Road Closed at Bridge."

"Alternate routes have been announced by Lorain County Metropolitan Park officials for driving to the Bacon Woods Reservation from Lorain and Elyria.

"The Mill Hollow hill is still open as far as the bridge. The steep grade can be handled easily by the new brakes, but was a real challenge to jalopies of the 1920's. 

"Mill Hollow was a traditional testing ground. If you could negotiate a Model-T Ford around the hairpin curve and up the rough climb you had passed some sort of driving test without benefit of police supervision.

"Parker Miller, ranger superintendent, said the bridge will be closed for about two months. It will require at least 10 days to take the old bridge down.

"Two new concrete pillars are already in position. Others will be erected as soon as the old bridge is removed.

"The new concrete bridge with iron super-structure will be a full two lanes wide as compared with the present lane-and-a-half bridge."

A day after the above article was featured in the Journal, the photo and caption below appeared in the paper on July 17, 1964. It depicts the construction of the supports for the new bridge.

A preview of the unfinished new bridge appeared in the Journal on August 14, 1964.

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I first wrote about the bridge replacement back in May 2019, posting a photo of the historic structure here. 

Sandstone Monument – Mill Hollow

While down at Mill Hollow last week, I saw something that I'd never noticed before: the sandstone monument shown above. 

A nearby plaque provided an explanation. It read, "This sandstone monument represents the intersection of four of the original sections of Brownhelm Township. Sections 45, 46, 51 and 52 meet here.

You can easily see that intersection on the 1874 Brownhelm Township map below.

Here's a modern view of the same area.

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Even though the fall foliage has peaked around here, there's still plenty of color to enjoy on a sunny day. While down at Mill Hollow, I grabbed a few post-peak shots. For a change, I tried some new vistas instead of my usual Bacon House and steel bridge compositions.

Busy Fall Day at Mill Hollow – October 7, 1963

Yesterday was the perfect day to head down to the Vermilion River Reservation to see how the fall colors were coming along at Mill Hollow & Bacon Woods. There was some great fall foliage here and there, but it's not quite peak color yet. 

Heading down there on a Sunday to enjoy the autumn color was on a lot of people's mind too – sixty years ago, according to the article below, which appeared in the Journal back on October 7, 1963.

According to the article, "At Bacon Woods (Mill Hollow) Reservation in Amherst, a record attendance of nature lovers was reported. Exactly 8,668 persons took advantage of this "golden day" to take a last look at the glory of God's creation.

"According to Henry L. Minert, director-secretary of the Lorain County Metropolitan Park District, this attendance was the highest ever reported at the park in its three-year history.

"Many of the people at Mill Hollow Sunday were picnickers, some were nature lovers and others just wanted to appreciate a day away from the house.

"Some were part of the thousands of sightseers who crowded country roads driving slowly to see the shades of reds, golds, browns and greens in the trees of the landscape.

"Some drove most slowly lest they miss a particular oak or maple tree. Their children scrambled out of the car at intervals collecting beautiful leaves for an exhibit at school.

"Sunday was one of those days when nothing bothered anyone. The beauty of God's universe was reflected in the faces of His children."

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There were no records set down there on Sunday. In fact, while I was there (from late morning to early afternoon) I saw about ten people – most of them walking dogs.

With few people there, I was free to wander around, enjoy the beautiful weather, and capture some shots with my camera phone.

Since there still was a lot of green, I'll have to revisit the park soon – before some windstorm strips the trees of their leaves, which is often the case.

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Mill Hollow and its history has been a favorite topic on this blog, which is not surprising since the park is one of my favorite places.

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Some of the nicest fall color that I found on Sunday was literally in my own backyard – around the old quarry that's behind my condo.

Mill Hollow Autumn Shots

It was a beautiful weekend weather-wise. Although it's past-peak when it comes to leaves, there's still plenty of color to be seen and enjoyed.

I had only about an hour on Sunday to goof off, so I went down to Vermilion River Reservation to see what Mother Nature was doing at Mill Hollow. I walked around a little bit, and at the same time grabbed a couple shots of my favorite Lorain County Metro Park.

Mill Hollow and Bacon Woods in Autumn have been the subject of many posts on this blog over the years.

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The rainy, windy days last week brought down a lot of leaves, and they're piled up on the grounds of my condo. The leaves are pretty deep on the sidewalk, but that's okay, because it's kinda fun to walk through them and kick them around. Makes you feel like a little kid.

Anyway, during my usual heavy reading right before I go to bed, I encountered the illustrated short story below, which is pretty appropriate right now. It's the inside front cover of Heckle and Jeckle No. 27 from August 1957.

I'm not sure who the nameless bulldog buddy is. It's not the mischievous magpies' usual menacing bulldog adversary. But the unseen Dimwit (whose lawn the birds are clearing of leaves) is the dopey dog who Heckle and Jeckle usually, er, heckle in the Terrytoon movie shorts.

Changes at Bacon Woods Reservation – July 1962

The Vermilion River Reservation – consisting of Mill Hollow and Bacon Woods – was the very first Lorain County Metro Park, having opened in 1960. 

Many of us remember how the park was in its early days. The article below, which appeared in the Journal on July 26, 1962, notes some of the changes taking place at that time that helped to make the park a favorite of many Lorain County residents.

As the article notes, "Quite a few changes have taken place at the Bacon Woods Reservation of the Lorain County Metropolitan Park District in the former Mill Hollow area during the last three months.

"The major change has been the addition of 12 camp sites at the southwest end of the park and a camp fire circle which makes an excellent family camping area. A camp site may be reserved for overnight, a week, several days or a weekend by making an application to the Elyria park's office.

"Two concrete block toilet buildings have been constructed; one next to the main picnic area and the other near the camping area.

"Other new additions to the park include a flag pole and large outdoor pen housing a peacock, a pea hen, a white pheasant, a duck, a sheep, and a female white-tailed deer.

"The barn and the old historic house have been cleaned out, with the barn to serve as a temporary shelter and the house to used in establishing a historical museum. 

"Plans to be completed in the near future include the erection of one or more large picnic shelters in the present park; building a new road into the undeveloped area north of the bridge (this has already been staked out); the maintenance buildings are being moved to the top of the hill off Vermilion Rd. and the building of a parking lot next to Vermilion Rd., which will serve a new picnic area and a museum building.

"The Nature Center at Bacon Woods has been in existence for some time and is still growing. It houses a collection of bird and animal mounts, mostly gifts from Jack Sparks and Bud Schue, and other natural history items.

"The most popular attraction in the park is the live animal collection."

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The Vermilion River Reservation is my favorite park – it's a real gem. And it's the first place that the Bradys ever camped in the early 1960s.

I've done several posts about Mill Hollow and Bacon Woods, including this one about a 1931 motorcycle hill climb at the park; this one about some of the Hialeah Tourist Cabins ending up at the park in 1960; this one about a badger being added to the park's live animal collection in 1963; this one about a new bridge into the park in 1964;  and this post with a photo of campers set up near the duck pond in 1969;

Camping at Mill Hollow

Do you remember when camping was allowed down at Mill Hollow?

I’m guessing not too many people can recall those days, but my family does. We learned how to camp down at Mill Hollow, pitching our first tent down there in the early 1960s. At the time, my younger brother was still a baby. He slept in a box.

I think of those days every time I go to the park (and as the leaves begin to change colors, I’ll be down there a lot).

Here’s a great photo of campers set up down at Mill Hollow by the duck pond. It appeared in the Journal on October 25, 1969.

The photo accompanied an article making a pitch for the passing of a park levy.

Back in October 1969, the Lorain County Metropolitan Park District was asking voters to approve Issue 5, a 20-year one-half mill levy to supply funds for the development and operation of the six park land reservations that made up the system at that time: Mill Hollow-Bacon Woods; Black River Reservation; French Creek Reservation; Lake Carlisle Reservation; Indian Hollow Reservation; and Charlemont Reservation.

The Park District was still relatively young in those days, a little more than ten years old, having only been created in 1957.

Voters ultimately defeated the levy in the 1969 November election. In the last fifty years, however, County residents have realized how lucky we are to have such a wonderful park system and have supported it, allowing it to greatly expand.

As noted on the Lorain County Metro Parks website, "The Park District is supported by a 1.6-mill levy property tax, earned income and a variety of sponsors and gifts. Capital improvements are financed by maintaining operating costs below annual revenues and utilizing grants, donations, and trusts.”

The duck pond is still there.

Hialeah Cabins on the Move – Feb. 9, 1961

One of my favorite topics on this blog has been the old tourist cabins that dotted the U. S. 6 landscape west of Lorain in the 1940s and 50s. These Mom and Pop lodging businesses predated the motel era, and consisted of individual structures collectively called a tourist court. 

If the owners stayed in business long enough, they often connected the small cottages or cabins under one roof to give them the appearance of a modern motel. (A good example of this would be the old Grandview Court, which evolved into the Grandview Motel.)

Sometimes, however, the tourist court business might not survive due to changes in road alignments. Green Lantern Camp apparently was put out of business thanks to the widening of Lake Road. And Hialeah Tourist Court ended up stranded on a bypassed piece of the highway.

I’ve been curious about Hialeah Tourist Court for some time, since there are still a few cabins there that somehow have survived to this day. I wondered: what happened to the other cabins?

Well, it took some time, but I have my answer: the other cabins were moved – to Mill Hollow!

As the small clipping from the Feb. 9, 1961 Lorain Journal notes, “Five tourist cottages have been donated to the Mill Hollow Reservation of the Lorain Metropolitan Park District by County Commissioner Ludwig M. Pincura, owner of Hialeah Tourist Court, 4015 W. Erie Ave.

“Two cottages will be used as information centers, two others will be used as shelters and the fifth will be used as a nature lodge.”

It would be interesting to know how long the cabins were used, and if any survive to this day, perhaps as a forgotten park tool shed.

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UPDATE 

The Arcadia Publishing book Lorain County Metro Parks: The First 50 Years (by Gary S. Gerrone) includes a photo of one of the repurposed cottages being used as a small picnic shelter.

The photo caption reads, “Five 12-by-16-foot summer cottage homes were donated to the Lorain County Metro Parks in 1960. Three of these were turned into small picnic shelters, like the one shown here. One was turned into the park’s first version of a nature center. The last one was turned into an information center, and although long closed, it greeted visitors to Mill Hollow’s “B” side well into the 1990s."

Mill Hollow Revisited

One of the nice things about living in Vermilion is being only a short drive away from the Vermilion River Reservation – that is, Mill Hollow & Bacon Woods. I spent a lot of time down there this summer enjoying the trails.

Autumn is a wonderful season down there too, and I captured a few fall photos, including the bridge over the Vermilion River and the Bacon House.

On one of my recent visits, I couldn’t help pulling off the road before descending the hill into the park, and walking over to take a look at the ‘old road.’ It’s really been reclaimed by nature since it was bypassed by the new entrance.

I’ve mentioned before how it used to be pretty interesting as a kid to go up the hill when we left the park after picnicking or camping there. The old road was pretty steep and Dad had to throw it in low gear.

In case you’ve forgotten, here are a few views of the park and the original road into it, courtesy of Historic Aerials.

1952 – before it was a park

1969

Back in 2014 on this blog entry, I posted this current aerial view (below).

And finally, here’s a ’now’ Google Maps view showing the new, gently curved entrance into the park, and the bypassed roadbed – which is still discernible, but in the process of being reclaimed by nature as I noted.

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In case it’s been a while since you visited Mill Hollow, here’s a recent view of what it looks like at the top of the hill, before you follow North Ridge Road down into the park area.

Mill Hollow has been a favorite topic on this blog since the beginning.