NORTH MANCHESTER COVERED BRIDGE

Pictures Map Info.

Actually, there have been 3 covered bridges built on this stretch of Sycamore Street, where it intersects South Mill Street , crossing the Eel River in Section 5, Township 29 North, and Range 7 East, on the southeast edge of North Manchester, Wabash County.

The first North Manchester Covered Bridge, built in about 1850 and lost in 1857, was listed in the World Guide as #14-85-19 (according to G. Gould's 1977 list), while the second Manchester Covered Bridge, built in about 1860 and lost in 1872, was listed in the World Guide as 14-85-20 (also according to G. Gould's 1977 list).

The current North Manchester Covered Bridge is a single span Smith #4 Patented Truss structure with a length of 150 feet, or 174 feet including the 12-foot overhang at each end, is 18 feet wide and 12 feet high. Built in 1872 by the Smith Bridge Company, the structure cost $3515, not including the expense of the abutments. Old images of this bridge show a walkway attached to the north side of the structure, which has been removed and, because of the bridges extreme width (it is the widest Covered Bridge in Indiana), has been moved inside the main structure. Though no historical marker is present, the current North Manchester Covered Bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and is listed in the 1889 World Guide as 14-85-02.

• Covered Bridge Project Resources

• Regarding Covered Bridge Designations