Bridgeton Covered Bridge - Rockville, Indiana - Covered Bridge

The present day Bridgeton Covered Bridge, built in 2006 by local citizen volunteers and the state of Indiana, is a replacement for the original bridge that was burned down at the hand of an arsonist on April 28, 2005. The culprit, Jesse Payne, who was also charged with the attempted arson of Mansfield Covered Bridge was deemed unfit to stand trial and institutionalized. The first bridge, built in 1868 by Joseph J. Daniels's crew, was 245 feet long, or 267 feet long if measuring the 11-foot overhang at each end. It was a double span Burr Arch Truss structure with 13 feet wide by 12 feet high portal clearance. The original was retired, or closed to traffic, in 1967 after 99 years of service upon completion of a more stable concrete bridge. In the old days, the message "Cross this bridge at a walk'' was printed on both ends so that the trotting of horses wouldn't damage it. Once considered the most photographed covered bridge in Indiana, maybe even in the world, Bridgeton Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 and in the "World Guide to Covered Bridges,'' published by the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, Inc. in 1989.

There was a bridge raising dedication ceremony for the new bridge, which was to be built with reference to the original blueprints, held on January 12, 2006 when fundraising for the project began. Like the original, the new Bridgeton Covered Bridge was built over a waterfall atop Big Raccoon Creek. Between February and June of 2006 local landowners and the Indiana State Forests donated tree, which were harvested and delivered by local logging companies. Local sawmill owners and volunteers sawed the logs into the necessary beams and boards. From July through September of 2006 the bridge was constructed from the ground up. The official dedication took place on October 1, 2006 followed by a community meal for everyone who helped to build the new bridge. Typically there were 8 to 18 daily volunteers through the week and weekend during the process, and nearly $200,000 was raised through fundraising for the reconstruction effort.

In September 1997, the Parke County Commissioners named The Bridgeton Covered Bridge Association caretaker of the bridge and today they continue to maintain it through the Bridgeton Covered Bridge Fund. 2 million or more people attend the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival each year. The festival celebrating the county's thirty-one covered bridges begins on the 2nd Friday in October and lasts for ten days. Rockville, Indiana, the location of Bridgeton, has hosted the festival since 1957. In October 2006, the highlight of the 50th anniversary festival was the newly constructed Bridgeton Covered Bridge.