THORPE FORD COVERED BRIDGE

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The Thorpe Ford Covered Bridge crosses Big Raccoon Creek on County Road 900 South in Parke County. This single span Burr Arch Truss structure has a length of 163 feet, or 181 feet including the 9-foot overhang at each end, with portals that are 16 feet wide by 13 feet high and was built in 1912 by Joseph A. Britton. The Thorp Ford Covered Bridge was condemned in 1960 and bypassed in 1961; during construction of the replacement bridge vandals parked all the heavy equipment inside the old covered structure, apparently in an attempt to collapse it, but she held fast and is still sitting beside the road where visitors can stop and walk through! Though no historical marker is present, this covered bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Thorpe Ford Covered Bridge is listed in the 1989 "World Guide to Covered Bridges," published by The National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, Inc., as #14-61-07; however, the designation used by Parke County officials is #14-61-16 ... in the February 1938 "Indiana History Bulletin" Robert B. Yule and Richard C. Smith assigned the designation "cd" to this Covered Timber Bridge located in Section 26, Township 14 North, and Range 8 West, about 1 mile northeast of Rosedale.

• Covered Bridge Project Resources

• Regarding Covered Bridge Designations

• PCI, Covered Bridge Capital

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