Parke County Covered Bridges

The Bridges Of Parke County

If someone mentions covered bridges, what do you think of? The green hills and picturesque small towns of New Hampshire or Vermont? Maybe the Amish country of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania? How about Indiana? Until a recent visit, we never knew that Parke County, west of Indianapolis, has more covered bridges than any other county in the world, boasting an incredible 30 of the rustic structures!

Covered bridges are a major tourist draw for Parke County, so much so that the county holds an annual Covered Bridge Festival each October that draws over two million visitors in ten days, who come to enjoy homemade food, crafts, and a variety of vendors offering all sorts of treasures.

Parke County has laid out five different tour routes that take visitors on meandering rides down country lanes, past tidy farms, through small towns, and to visit covered bridges. Lots of covered bridges! Though suited for just about any passenger vehicle, some of the roads along these routes are gravel and pretty narrow, presenting challenges for some motorcycle riders, and all cross covered bridges that may have uneven surfaces, requiring caution on a rider's part.. Colored road signs coordinated to the route names guide visitors along the way. All five tour routes originate in the charming small town of Rockville, and the routes share part of the same roadway in different areas.

The shortest tour route, the Brown Route on the western edge of Parke County, is 25 miles long and will take you to four different covered bridges, as well as a historic wooden railroad overpass bridge, and an Erie Canal turnaround on the Wabash River, where canal boats were unloaded and pointed back upriver for their return trip.

Ridng northwest out of Rockville and through the tiny community of Coloma, the first covered bridge we come to on the Brown Route is the 83 foot Melcher Bridge, built in 1896. The bridge is still open for automobile traffic

Continuing west to Montezuma on the Wabash River, the route turns south to Armiesburg, then the 84 foot long Sim Smith Bridge, circa 1883. Open to vehicular traffic with a six ton limit, the bridge is said to be haunted by the ghost of an Amish spirit driving a horse drawn buggy. The locals warn that if you visit the bridge at night and hear the clip clopping of a horse’s hooves, run as fast as you can! A short ride takes us to the next bridge on the Brown Route, the Phillips Bridge. Built in 1909, the handsome 43 foot long King Post Truss style bridge is open to vehicles under six tons. The final bridge on the Brown Route tour is the Mecca Bridge, built in 1873. The bridge is no longer open to traffic. The one room Wabash School next to the bridge is no longer in use, but still holds desks, books, and a chalkboard, waiting for another class of students eager to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The 30 mile long Red Tour Route starts out going south from Rockville, making its first stop at the 126 foot long McAllister Bridge, which is open to traffic. Further south a side road leads to the Nevins Bridge, 155 feet long and built in 1920. This bridge is also open to vehicular traffic. An interesting stop on the Red Route is the historic Bridgeton Grist Mill, established in 1823. The mill started life as a sawmill, but was destroyed in a fire in 1869, then rebuilt as a grist mill, and is still in operation today. The 245 foot long double span Bridgeton Bridge, built in 1868, was recently destroyed by a arson and the community plans to rebuild it.

South of Bridgeton the Red Route turns west, then north for a stop at the Thorpe Ford Bridge, measuring 163 feet and erected in 1912. The bridge is closed to traffic. The next bridge on our route is the Roseville Bridge, opened in 1910. The 263 foot long double span bridge has a weight limit of five tons. If you like visiting cemeteries and the graves of the famous and the not so famous, take a short side trip here of less than a mile to the grave of Tex Terry, an old Hollywood cowboy movie star. Further north, the Red Route passes over the 65 foot Harry Evans Bridge, built in 1908 and still open to traffic. The last bridge on the Red Route is the 54 foot long Zacke Cox Bridge, built in 1908 and open to traffic.

The first stop on the 30 mile Black Route is the 1899 Leatherwood Station Bridge. The 72 foot long bridge is at BillieCreek Village, a collection of restored buildings and farmsteads that includes a general store, log cabin, one room schoolhouse that has special events throughout the summer. Paralleling the Red Route south from Rockville, the Black Route stops at Crooks Bridge, which was built in 1855 and is 132 feet long and open to traffic. From there the route passes the McAllister Bridge, described earlier, and on to the 162 foot long Neet Bridge, built in 1904 and now closed to traffic. Next we come to the Bridgeton Mill before turning east for a stop at Conley’s Ford Bridge. Built in 1907 and measuring 192 feet, this bridge is still open.

The Black Route turns north for a visit to 72 foot long Big Rocky Fork Bridge, built in 1900 and no longer in service, and then continues on to the 247 foot long double span Mansfield Bridge, which was built in 1867 and is still in use. Nearby is Mansfield Roller Mill State Historic Site, with its working flour mill, first established in 1819. It is considered the finest example of early roller milling in Indiana, with three floors of machinery and a working turbine. Operation varies by season. For more information call (765) 344-0741. Nearing Rockville again, a short diversion from the Black Route takes us to the State Sanitarium Bridge, noted for its lightning rods. The 154 foot long bridge was erected in 1913 and is no longer used.

The 30 mile long Blue Route passes pretty Rockville Lake Park as it runs north to Turkey Run State Park, where the Narrows Bridge spans Sugar Creek. Now closed, the bridge was built in 1882 and measures 121 feet long. Turkey Run State Park has 213 RV sites with electric hookups, as well as hiking tails, several historic buildings, a nature center, guided horseback trail rides, fishing, and canoe rentals. For more information on Turkey Run State Park, call (765) 597-2635 or write Turkey Run State Park, 8121 E. Park Road, Marshall, Indiana 47859.

A ride several miles east from the Blue Route along State Route 47 and south on local roads will take you to the Portland Mills Bridge near Waveland. Also known as the Dooley Station Bridge, this structure was built in 1856 and is 130 feet long. The bridge is open to traffic, and has the distinction of being one of only two white covered bridges in Parke County. All others are painted the traditional red.

From Turkey Run State Park the Blue Route turns west, then north to the 176 foot long Cox Ford Bridge, built in 1913 and still in service. A short ride away we come to the Wilkins Mill Bridge, built in 1906 and 102 feet long. This bridge is also still open to traffic. The next bridge on the Blue Route is our other white bridge, the impressive Jackson Bridge, built in 1861. At 207 feet long, this is the longest single span bridge in Parke County and still open to traffic. The last bridge on the tour is the 54 foot long Catlin Bridge, built in 1907. The bridge is now closed to traffic and is on the Parke County Golf Course. Keep an eye out for Amish horse drawn buggies along the Blue Route, and if you want some traditional Amish food or crafts, several businesses along the route offer a nice variety.

Running northwest from Rockville, our final tour is the 30 mile long Yellow Route, which takes us though the community of West Union to the bridge by the same name. Built in 1876 and open only to foot traffic these days, at 315 feet the double span West Union Bridge is the longest covered bridge in Indiana. Fishermen do very well in the water under the bridge, and while we were visiting a trio of lucky anglers showed us some very nice bass they had hooked.

Seeming small in comparison, the 56 foot long Marshall Bridge is a short drive north. Built in 1917, the bridge is still open. The Rush Creek Bridge, at 77 feet, has been carrying traffic since it was built in 1904. A bit northwest are the Mill Creek Towpath Bridge, 92 feet long and built in 1907, and the nearby 72 foot long Browsher Ford Bridge, built in 1915. Both bridges are open to traffic.

The bridges of Parke County are beautiful structures, and it will require several days to comfortably cover all five tour routes and really see all there is to see. Time and weather have taken their toll on several of the bridges, but their biggest threat seems to come from people. Several bridges have been damaged and two destroyed by arson fires. A local man was convicted of setting several bridge fires, including the one that destroyed the Bridgeton Bridge, and faces up to sixty years in prison for the crimes.

Life moves at a slower pace in Parke County, and the area’s rich heritage and beautiful scenery are things you will remember forever. We spent a week exploring and barely scratched the surface of all there is to see and do here! For more information on Parke County and its covered bridges, contact the Parke County Convention and Visitors Commission at P.O. Box 165, Rockville, Indiana 47872, or visit their website at www.coveredbridges.com