Lowell was the site of one of ten wooden covered bridges built from 1820 to 1887 that crossed the Muskingum River from Marietta to Coshocton. The Lowell bridge was built in 1881. Wood was used because lumber was plentiful and building with wood was easier and cheaper than using stone, while the covers protected the timbers from rain. The bridge connected Lowell on the north side of the river with the railroad on the south side. It suffered many mishaps typical of wooden bridges: in 1882 a storm blew off the roof, in 1884 a flood washed the bridge off its stone piers, and the 1913 flood destroyed it along with many other bridges on the river. An iron bridge was then built on the site. The last covered bridge on the river, at Conesville seven miles south of Coshocton, was condemned in 1958.