Tinker's Hollow was originally named Benton, a small community located near Monroe Township. The hollow was later renamed to honor Tinker's father, Silas Tinker, Sr., who built an iron foundry near the creek. An early pioneer who accompanied Connecticut surveyors of the Western Reserve in the early 1800's, Tinker later became recognized as the inventor the lawn mower, which was first tested in a field in this hollow.

Tinker's Hollow flourished for many years. Along the banks of this creek once stood a cider mill and grist mill, the first ones built in the Ashtabula area.

Now,overgrown fields are all that is left of Tinker's Hollow.

As for Old Man Tinker, he was brought up in a family of 7 children and lived a long life. Not much is known about his later years, although it is said that he withdrew from the community and lived his last days within the decaying frame of his father's foundry

Visitors are warned to stay away from this bridge at night, lest they meet the ghost of Silas Tinker, a moody old curmudgeon who doesn't take kindly to folks snooping around his land.

Yet, if his glowing green eyes should gaze upon a brave soul with favor, he may reward that person with his hidden cache of gold. And so people continue to venture here at night, waiting breathlessly under the bridge, listening for the sounds of Old Man Tinker's horse and carriage overhead.

The cause of Old Man Tinker's death is not known, so we cannot say for sure that he died as a result of a carriage accident. We believe that it is more likely that he simply died from old age.

Strangely, there was another, similar fatal horse accident in Tinker's Hollow a few years after the time of Mr. Tinker's demise. In that case, Bert Brydle was found dead on a road, under "suspicious" circumstances. This created a great fervor among residents, who believed that Brydle was murdered by bandits. Authorities later determined that Brydle died as a result of a fall from his horse-drawn carriage.