Plank Road Covered Bridge

Plank Road Covered Bridge
Bridge
Official name: Plank Road Covered Bridge
Named for: The Plank Road
Country United States
State Indiana
County Parke
Township Adams
Road Plank Road
Crosses Little Raccoon Creek
Coordinates 39°45′36.06″N 87°10′2.6″W / 39.7600167°N 87.167389°W / 39.7600167; -87.167389Coordinates: 39°45′36.06″N 87°10′2.6″W / 39.7600167°N 87.167389°W / 39.7600167; -87.167389 [1]
Builder Wolf, Henry, Indiana
Design Burr Arch truss single-span bridge
Material Wood
Built 1854 or 1859
 - Original Cost $8,488
Destroyed 1913 Flood
Location of the Plank Road Bridge in Indiana
Location of Indiana in the United States

The Plank Road Covered Bridge was east of Rockville, Indiana. The single-span Burr Arch covered bridge structure was built by Henry Wolf in either 1854 or 1859 and destroyed in the Great Flood of 1913.[2]

History

Construction

The bridge was originally built by Henry Wolf on the Plank Road, that had been constructed between Rockville and Bellmore around 1850. The Plank Road was a toll road that would stretch from Indianapolis, in the east, to the Wabash River, in the west. However, the planking didn't hold up and they soon started to rot. The boards were removed and the road was graveled. In 1867 or 1877 the Parke County Commissioners bought the companies stock and opened the road as a free road.

Repairs and Destruction

The bridge would suffer from damaging flood a couple of times in its life before finally succumbing to the Great Flood of 1913, which would go on to claim several bridges in Parke County.

The first record is that J.J. Daniels had to make repairs in 1863 to the bridge. Again, in 1875, flood waters damaged the east abutment this time which would require $900 in repairs.

After being damaged in the 1913 flood it was replaced with the Howard Covered Bridge.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "1905 Parke County Atlas Adams Township". indianagenweb.com. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Plank Road Covered Bridge". coveredbridges.com. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
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