the BEACON Newspaper, Indiana beaconweb9-18 | Page 4

Page 4A THE BEACON September 2018

Covered Bridges Span the Test of Time for Generations

Continued from page 1A need for improved infrastructure was sorely felt in 1800s Southeastern Indiana as the country looked westward for opportunity . The rush to build canals , roads , and bridges resulted in at least six covered bridges being built on Indiana ’ s share of the National Road between 1831 and 1837 .

Some historians suggest that Indiana had as many as six hundred covered bridges , but that number probably includes covered railroad bridges . Today , there are only seven covered bridges still standing in this area , with one in Dearborn County , four in Franklin County , and two in Ripley County . Unfortunately , many of those engineering marvels have been lost to floods , fire , and neglect , but the stories of the bridge builders and the importance of those handcrafted structures continue .

Susan Bengston with the Ohio County Historical Society in Rising Sun compares pictures in copies of old newspaper clippings to a fading photograph of Neamans Bridge spanning Arnolds Creek . From circa 1850 until 1893 , it was one of two documented covered bridges in the county . The second bridge , spanning Laughery Creek on the Versailles Turnpike in or near Milton , was constructed by Joseph J . Daniels , a bridge builder who was over 6 ’ tall and who died in 1916 at the age of 90 .

Historical documents gathered by county historian Julie

The 92 ” long Stockheughter Bridge crosses Salt Creek in Franklin County .

Schlesselmann indicate that Franklin County had a minimum of 21 covered bridges . The 300 ’ Fairfield Bridge spanning the East Fork of the Whitewater River was built in 1866 , by J . L . Kennedy – no relation to A . M . Kennedy . However , nearby Dunlapsville Bridge was the first bridge A . M . Kennedy & Sons constructed . Sadly , both bridges were destroyed by arsonists .

One of the earliest wooden covered bridges in the county was the Mount Carmel Bridge on State Road 126 , built by Thomas Hardman in 1870 . Over time , countless covered bridges were bypassed , burnt , or left to the elements , but a few were relocated and used as barns , or as was the case with the Haymond Bridge at Saint Mary ’ s of the Rock that had been built in 1881 and moved across the road in 1969 – a corn crib .

The still standing , privatelyowned 1905 Seal Barn Bridge was built on the John Seal Farm by George Reuss using a Queenpost truss in the construction . This unused covered

The Burr-arch truss of the recently rehabilitated Duck Creek Aqueduct . This lone surviving - and still functioning - covered aqueduct is located within the Whitewater Canal State Historic Site at Metamora .

bridge was designed mainly for cattle to safely cross Big Cedar Creek . Fortunately , the Stockheughter Bridge near Enochsburg , built in 1891 , and the refurbished Snow Hill Bridge that has spanned Johnson Fork since its original construction in 1895 , are open to daily traffic .

Located north of those picturesque structures is the Duck Creek Aqueduct , the only

The construction of the Duck Creek Aqueduct in Metamora required ingenuity and skill . [ Library of Congress , Prints and Photographs Division , HAER IN-108 ( sheet 8 of 10 )]

The Duck Creek Aqueduct , built in 1846 , was designed to allow overflow from the canal waters to spill into Duck Creek below .

covered wood aqueduct in the United States . It was declared a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1992 and a National Historic Landmark in 2014 .

The original Duck Creek Aqueduct was built without a roof in 1843 for the Whitewater Canal system . After being destroyed in an 1845 flood , another aqueduct was constructed with white pine and oak – and a roof . Now 175

The Snow Hill Bridge was originally built in 1894 by John Horn and William Butts .

years old , the historic structure has recently been rehabilitated so once again , anyone can experience the novelty of riding on a canal boat and traveling through a rare piece of American history .

Although the Duck Creek Aqueduct at Metamora is the last of its kind in the entire country , there have been other

Continued on page 5A

Personal Service that is State-of-the-Art

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