GUILFORD COVERED BRIDGE

photo by Bill Walden

Pictures Map Info.

The Guilford Covered Bridge originally crossed the East Fork of Tanner's Creek, heading west into Guilford. George Gould located this structure in Section 20, Township 7 North, and Range 1 West; however, I believe it is actually in Section 19 of Township 6 North and Range 1 West, Dearborn County. This single span Burr Arch Truss structure has a length of 104 feet, or 119 feet including the 7-foot overhang at each end, with a portal clearance 17 feet 9 inches wide by 11 feet 6 inches high. Built in 1879 by Archibald M. Kennedy & Sons, in 1960 the bridge was moved off the road where it stood a number of years before it was moved to its current location, just a few hundred yards from its original site, into a beautiful park where it is still open to traffic.

In the 1900s, additional structural supports were added to this bridge to sustain heavier loads that were the result of Guilford's rail commerce in conjunction with nearby coalmines. Damaged by in 1993, restoration was completed in 1997 by L. L. Brown Co., and the Amos Schwartz Co. The renovations included a sprinkler system, one of only three bridges in Indiana thus equipped.

There were 2 modifications to the original Kennedy design that were removed in this last restoration, one being the internal rail providing a sheltered walkway and the other being the wood block pavement that was added during a Civilian Conservation Corps project; of the 3 covered bridges that received wood block pavement only the Darlington Covered Bridge, in Montgomery County, remains. The Guilford Covered Bridge was listed as #14-15-01 in the 1972 World Guide.

• Covered Bridge Project Resources

• Regarding Covered Bridge Designations