Weisner Covered Bridge

Weisner Covered Bridge
Weisner Covered Bridge
Coordinates	39°41′11.88″N87°15′54.95″W / 39.6866333°N 87.2652639°W Coordinates: 39°41′11.88″N87°15′54.95″W / 39.6866333°N 87.2652639°W
Crosses	Weisner Creek
Locale	Parke, Indiana, United States of America
Official name	Weisner Covered Bridge
Named for	Weisner Creek
Characteristics
Total length	63 ft (19 m)43ft +10ft overhangs on each end
Width	16 ft (4.9 m)
History
Constructed by	Britton, J.A.
Built	1908
Destroyed	1957 Flood
Location

Last updated September 10, 2022

The Weisner Covered Bridge was southwest of Catlin, Indiana. The single-span King Post covered bridge structure was built by Joseph A. Britton in 1908 and destroyed by flood in 1957.^[1]

History

Construction

Joseph A. Britton built this bridge the same year that he also built the nearby Zacke Cox Covered Bridge and Harry Evans Covered Bridges. It would hold the title as the shortest covered bridge in Parke County until a year later when the Phillips Covered Bridge would tie it for the title.

During construction, teams of horses and wagons would bog down in quicksand that lay along the creek bed. To fix this, small herds of cattle were led back and forth across these areas to pack the sand down and make it firm enough to support the horses and wagons.

Destruction

On June 27 and 28, 1957, the remnants of Hurricane Audrey met up with a front that laid across central Indiana. The resulting rain, 6 to 10 inches, produces record floods across central Indiana and east-central Illinois. Rockville reported 10.15 inches. Big Raccoon Creek report the highest levels since the floods of 1875. Across the area six people were drowned, 1,282 dwellings damaged, 125 businesses were flooded, dozens of highway and railroad bridges were washed out and a million acres of crops were flooded, with thousands of acres of already cultivated land flooded to a depth of 6 feet or more.

The Weisner Covered Bridge was washed away when a small dam above the bridge gave way in this massive rainstorm. This quickly filled the Weisner Creek valley with flood water, washing the bridge away and threatening the residents of a nearby house that feared the flood waters would sweep it away also.

Since then a larger flood control dam, constructed by the Corps of Engineers, has been constructed upstream from the former site of the Weisner Covered Bridge. However, a study of the new dam reports that if it were to fail and collapse the resulting flood waters would sweep down the Little Raccoon Creek valley and damage houses in Jessup.

With this bridge and the Moore Covered Bridge both destroyed in the same flood and an economic downturn in the county, the idea for the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival was born as a way to increase county income and preserve the county's unique covered bridges.^[2]

Related Research Articles

The Mansfield Covered Bridge is a Double Burr Arch double span truss bridge located on Mansfield Road (historic) and Big Raccoon Creek in Mansfield southeast of Rockville in Parke County, Indiana. Built by Joseph J. Daniels in 1867 at a cost of $12,200. At 279 ft (85 m) it is the second longest covered bridge left in Parke County. This Historic Site rest on land provided by Luke Moody, of Parke County, Indiana and is open to the public all year.

Conley's Ford Covered Bridge was built in 1906 and crosses Big Raccoon Creek on County Road 550 East close to County Road 720 South, in Parke County, IN. The bridge is a single span Burr Arch Truss structure. The Conley's Ford Covered Bridge was built by J. Lawrence Van Fossen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgeton Covered Bridge</span> Bridge in Bridgeton, Indiana

The first Bridgeton covered bridge was a double-span Burr Arch bridge built in 1868 by a crew led by J. J. Daniels. It was closed to traffic in 1967. It was built to replace two prior open wooden bridges that had fallen in. After its destruction by fire, it was replaced in 2006 by a reproduction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nevins Covered Bridge</span> Place in Indiana listed on National Register of Historic Places

The Nevins Covered Bridge is a single span Burr Arch Truss covered bridge that crosses Little Raccoon Creek on County Road 130 East, just southeast of Catlin, Indiana. It was built in 1920 by Joseph A. Britton and Son. Prior to the reconstruction of the Bridgeton Bridge in 2006, the Nevins Bridge was the newest covered bridge in Parke County.

The Crooks Covered Bridge is a single span Burr Arch Truss structure that crosses Little Raccoon Creek built in 1855-1856 by Henry Wolf just southeast of Rockville, Indiana.

The Beeson Covered Bridge originally crossed Roaring Creek, one mile (1.6 km) northwest of Marshall, Indiana, on County Road 216, in Washington Township, Parke County. The bridge was moved to its current location in Billie Creek Village in December 1979.

The Cox Ford Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that crosses Sugar Creek along the western edge of Turkey Run State Park, in Parke County, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

The Jackson Covered Bridge also known as the Rockport Covered Bridge is located in the 'forgotten town' of Rockport, northwest of Bloomingdale, Parke County, Indiana, USA.

The Portland Mills Covered Bridge is the second oldest covered bridge in Parke County, Indiana, being built the same year as the Crooks Covered Bridge. It is a single span Burr Arch Truss covered bridge that was built by Henry Wolf in 1856.

The Phillips Covered Bridge is southeast of Montezuma, Indiana in Parke County, Indiana and crosses Rocky Run, also known as Big Pond Creek. Unlike the rest of the bridges of Parke County, it is a single span King Post bridge structure, having no arches, that was built by Joseph A. Britton in 1909.

The Sanitorium Covered Bridge is a bridged located east of Rockville, Indiana. The single-span Burr Arch covered bridge structure was built by Joseph A. Britton in 1913.

The Zacke Cox Covered Bridge is east of Mecca, Indiana. The single span Burr Arch Truss covered bridge structure was built by Joseph A. Britton in 1908.

The Armiesburg Covered Bridge was on the south side of Armiesburg, Indiana. The Long Truss with arch covered bridge structure was built by Henry Wolf in 1907 and destroyed by the Great Flood of 1913.

The Grange Corner Covered Bridge was west of Grange Corner, Indiana. The single-span Burr Arch covered bridge structure was built by the J. J. Daniels in 1899 and destroyed by flood in 1968.

The Harrison Covered Bridge was north of West Union, Indiana. The double-span Burr Arch covered bridge structure was built by J. J. Daniels in 1866 and damaged by flood waters in December 1875.

The Jessup Covered Bridge was north of Jessup, Indiana. The single-span Burr Arch covered bridge structure was built by the Jefferson P. Van Fossen in 1910 and destroyed by flood in 1989.

The Moore Covered Bridge was northeast of Judson, Indiana. The single-span Burr Arch covered bridge structure was built by the Joseph A. Britton in 1909 and destroyed by flood in 1957.

The Roaring Creek Covered Bridge was northeast of Annapolis, Indiana. The single-span covered bridge structure was built by Henry Wolf in 1863 and dismantled in 1923-25.

The Lusk Covered Bridge was once located north of Marshall, Indiana, United States. Two single-span dual lane Lattice Truss covered bridges were located at the site, one of which replaced the other. Salmon Lusk constructed the first bridge in 1840, and after its destruction by flood in 1847, Lusk constructed the second. Both bridges were located on private land; the only other such covered bridges in Parke County were the State Sanitorium Covered Bridge, the JH Russell Covered Bridge, and the Clinton Toll Bridge.

References

1 2 "Weisner Covered Bridge". Covered Bridges. Parke County Convention & Visitors Commission. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
↑ Charles E. Schoppenhorst (1958). Floods of June-July 1957 in Indiana (PDF). USGS.gov (Report). UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. Retrieved 7 March 2015.

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[parke-1] 1 2 "Weisner Covered Bridge". Covered Bridges. Parke County Convention & Visitors Commission. Retrieved 7 March 2015.

[2] Charles E. Schoppenhorst (1958). Floods of June-July 1957 in Indiana (PDF). USGS.gov (Report). UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR. Retrieved 7 March 2015.

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