J. H. Russell Covered Bridge, Parke County, Indiana

J. H. RUSSELL COVERED BRIDGE

photo by Whitey Everitt

The J. H. Russell Covered Bridge is no longer standing … it crossed Square Rock Branch of Sugar Creek in Section 31, Township 17 North, and Range 7 West, Parke County. This single span Queen Post Truss structure had a length of 42 feet, or 50 feet including the 4-foot overhang at each end, was 12 feet wide and 12 feet high.

In the original survey of Indiana, by Robert B. Yule and Richard C. Smith, the James H. Russell Covered Bridge was omitted. I believe from the papers of Melvin L. Davies I have found that, as a member of the Covered Bridge Commission of the State Historical Society, he brought this tiny covered bridge to the attention of the world; in the February 1941 "Indiana History Bulletin" Robert B. Yule and Richard C. Smith added this structure to their list assigning it the designation "x-2." In an effort to compile a complete history of the bridge Mel wrote letters to both the wife of Mr. Russell as well as the builder, Mr. Pearly Weaver; their replies were exceptional reading. Mel's written history, as researched and presented in the November 19, 1942 issue of the The Republican, along with reproductions of the original photographs that accompanied this submission follow:

" In Penn township, Parke County across Square Rock branch stands the J. W. Russell covered bridge, one of the [then] 202 remaining in the state. This bridge has the distinction of being one of two now standing that was built on a privately owned driveway leading out to the main country road by the landowner.

"The bridge was built in 1897 by Perley Weaver now a resident of Sheridan, Indiana, for J. W. Russell. It is a Howe truss bridge with a span of 45 feet and is in a fine state of preservation. Mr. Weaver was only 24 years old when he built the bridge and was assisted in the carpentry work by a brother, George Weaver who now lives in Carrollton, Missouri.

"Having no experience in bridge building a book on the subject was secured and the plans drawn up. As the greater part of the materials were secured on the Russell farm and labor was quite cheap at that time the cost of the bridge was comparatively low (Mr. Weaver does not recall but believes he received not more than $2.50 a day).

"The abutments were laid by a man who had just completed a similar job near by. A derrick was erected at the bridge site and stone lifted out from the the stream bed into place to form the abutments. The stones from this bed are quite uniform in thickness and from that fact came the name 'Square Rock branch.'

"Said Mr. Weaver, 'I well remember how I looked thru the woods to find two oak trees tall and straight enough to make the stringer beams. The trees used were 2 1/2 feet in diameter and some 50 feet long, squaring 12 inches at the top. The joice in the bridge, the side posts and the nail ties were of clear poplar taken from an old cabin which stood not far away. The trusses are of maple and oak off of the farm."

Closing the Russell bridge story Mr. Davies adds: "One will find these interesting covered bridges in [then] 42 counties of the state and each has an interesting story to tell. Why not help see that they are preserved for the coming generations."

Perhaps bypassed in 1970, the structure was lost sometime after 1977. The J. H. Russell Covered Bridge was listed in the 1972 "World Guide to Covered Bridges," published by The National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, Inc., as #14-61-39; Parke County officials probably use George Gould's identifier of #14-61-27 as listed in his book "Indiana Covered Bridges Thru the Years," published in 1977 by the Indiana Covered Bridge Society, Inc.

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... Photographic selection of Parke County Covered Bridges ...