Fraker Mill Bridge on the Wabash Cannonball Trail - a former railroad turned into a walking, running, biking, and horseriding trail - has been a long time coming. Its name goes back to 1834 when Thomas Fraker bought land near Delta's southern limits and built a log home.
A lumber and stave mill went up later to supply building materials for new homes in the area.
Jump ahead 167 years to the summer of 2001, when about a dozen members of the Northwestern Ohio Rails-to-Trails Association Inc. spent nine straight days erecting a timber-framed, covered bridge over Bad Creek near the Swancreek-York township line.
"We wanted to have a showpiece for our trail," said Bonnie Markley of the 40-mile trail that runs from Williams County to the Maumee area. "And that seemed the perfect site for one."
And for the Fraker family, it's full of memories.
Generation after generation, young Fraker descendants have gathered blackberries, mushrooms, and wildflowers in the area of the bridge.