The "lost" covered bridges of Parke County covers the covered bridges of Parke County, Indiana, United States, that have been destroyed, either through floods, arson, or demolition.
Parke County is the self-proclaimed "Covered Bridge Capital of the World". It claims to have more covered bridges than any other county in the United States. At one time as many as 52 1/2 covered bridges existed in Parke County. The half bridge comes from a shared bridge with Vermillion County that crossed the Wabash River. Today 31 of those bridges survive, 10 of which have been closed to vehicle traffic. Because of the numerous streams and creeks meandering through the county and the ready natural resources to build the bridges, Parke County has many covered bridges.
Construction Almost all of the bridges exteriors were built of poplar wood, with interiors, trusses, arches and planking built of oak. The majority of the bridges were built using a Burr Arch or a double Burr Arch design.
Parke County had two bridge builders who built most of the bridges in the county. The first of these was J.J. Daniels. Born in 1826, in Marietta, Ohio, he built railroad bridges in Ohio and Indiana and 60 covered bridges in Indiana. Of these 60 bridges, 27 alone were in Parke County, with 11 of those still standing. The second was J.A. Britton. He was born just three miles east of Rockville, in 1838. Britton would built 17 covered bridges in Parke County, with 12 of those still standing.
Bridgeton bridge arson The Bridgeton bridge was burned by an arsonist in 2004, but the community rallied to raise funds for local craftsmen to build a new bridge in 2006, based on the original blueprints.
List of bridges NameImageYear builtYear destroyedDesign and lengthBody of water crossedCause of destruction Adams Covered Bridge 1907 1969 Burr Truss, long Little Raccoon Creek Flood Armiesburg Covered Bridge 1854 1913 Long Truss, unknown feet long Big Raccoon Creek Flood Bridgeton Covered Bridge 1868 2005 Burr Truss, long Big Raccoon Creek Arson, April 28, 2005 Clinton Covered Bridge 1853 1899 Long Truss, long Wabash River Dismantled using high voltage wires to cut through the trusses. Coal Creek Covered Bridge 1869 1992 Burr Truss, long Coal Creek Arson, June 28, 1992 Dooley Station Covered Bridge 1917 1960 Burr Truss, long Little Raccoon Creek Arson, December 4, 1960 Grange Corner Covered Bridge 1899 1968 Burr Truss, long Sugar Mill Creek Flood Greencastle Road Covered Bridge 1863 (before) 1863 Unknown, unknown feet long Little Raccoon Creek Dismantled Harbison Covered Bridge 1916 1943 Burr Truss, unknown feet long Big Raccoon Creek Fire Hargrave Covered Bridge 1847 1913 Burr Truss, unknown feet long Big Raccoon Creek Flood Harrison Covered Bridge 1866 1876 Burr Truss, long Sugar Creek Dismantled Hollandsburg Covered Bridge 1866 1930 Burr Truss, unknown feet long Big Raccoon Creek Dismantled Howard Covered Bridge 1913 1931 or 1932 Burr Truss, unknown feet long Sugar Creek Dismantled Jeffries Ford Covered Bridge 1915 2002 Burr Truss, long Big Raccoon Creek Arson, April 2, 2002 Jessup Covered Bridge 1910 1989 Burr Truss, long Little Raccoon Creek Flood JH Russell Covered Bridge 1897 1983 Queen Truss, long Sugar Creek, Square Rock Branch Dismantled Lusk Covered Bridge #1 1840 1847 Lattice Truss (unconfirmed), unknown feet long Sugar Creek Flood, January 1, 1847 Lusk Covered Bridge #2 1847 1875 Lattice Truss (unconfirmed), unknown feet long Sugar Creek Unknown Moore Covered Bridge 1909 1957 Burr Truss, long Little Raccoon Creek, South Fork Flood Plank Road Covered Bridge 1854 or 1859 1913 Burr Truss, unknown feet long Little Raccoon Creek Flood Red Covered Bridge 1880 1976 Burr Truss, long Big Raccoon Creek Arson, October 13, 1976 Roaring Creek Covered Bridge 1863 (unconfirmed) 1923 and 1925 Unknown, unknown feet long Roaring Creek Dismantled Roseville Covered Bridge 1866 1910 Burr Truss, long Big Raccoon Creek Arson, April 10, 1910 Star Mill Covered Bridge 1861 1866 Burr Truss, long Sugar Creek Flood Turkey Run Covered Bridge 1865, 1866, or 1884 1914 Queen Truss, long Turkey Run Dismantled Union Township Covered Bridge 1851 1872 Burr Truss, unknown feet long Big Raccoon Creek Dismantled Weisner Covered Bridge 1908 1957 King Post, long Weisner Creek Flood
Notes Sorting this column will result in bridges being listed in order by length.
See also List of Registered Historic Places in Indiana List of Indiana covered bridges
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