Bridgeton Mill
Covered Bridge
The original covered bridge was built in 1868. (Click to read the history of the original covered bridge).
The 1868 structure was burned down in 2006 from arson.
The Town of Bridgeton and local volunteers rebuilt the existing covered bridge, completed in 2007.
Congratulations for everyone's efforts, time and energies to rebuild Bridgeton Covered Bridge.
It is beautiful !
And it looks identical to the original.
Until you read the date on the portal you would not know the original was destroyed.
Great Job ! Everyone !
There are some still snapshots taken from a video.
The day we visited Bridgeton Mill, it was raining.
As a consequent, I did not take my normal still photographs.
The video however worked well but the pictures do not carry the preferred quality.
None-the-less it turned out to be a great day visiting Bridgeton Mill and discovering the rebuilt covered bridge.
The dam has been at this site with a natural waterfalls.
The dam was built up originally with brush, then a wooden dam and ultimately a concrete dam.
The concrete dam was breached due to age and severe flooding.
Mike Roe, owner and miller at Bridgton Mill, enlisted friends and neighbors to reconstruct the dam in the late 1990s.
It remains a natural landmark with the covered bridge and the mill.
The mill pond is spectacular against the 245' long bridge.
Again, volunteers, friends and neighbors assisted in creating this engineering construction to rebuild the dam.
The dam stands today complementing the artistic landscape.
In the near future, Mike Roe plans to harness the waters of the Raccoon Creek and power his mill with its energy.
Photographed 1987
Inside and out, Bridgeton Covered Bridge is stunning.
Here you can witness the two sets of double burr arches.
Postcard from 1900
History of Bridgeton Covered Bridge
Excerpt from Covered Bridges Today
by Brenda Krekeler
Written 1987, Published 1989
The Bridgeton Bridge is located in the town of Bridgeton, Indiana. The two-span structure crosses Raccoon Creek, the major drainage channel in southern Parke County. The bridge is 245' long and the creek has a similar bed width.
The bridge, built in 1868 by J.J. Daniels, has a gray tin roof, red plank siding with batten and white portals. Six roofed windows are unevenly distributed throughout the bridge. The abutments and pier are made with cut stone and concrete, and the pier has a concrete ice breaker. Each span has a multiple kingpost truss and a set of double Burr arches. The floor has lengthwise planking.
The bridge has a spectacular location, sitting virtually on top of a mill race. The mill pond extends the full length of the bridge at the dam. The Weise Mill was built around the same time as the mill. The Bridgton Mill is still producing corn meal, wheat , rye and buckwheat flours during the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival.
DIRECTIONS: Raccoon Township. At Bridgeton. (Donovan, 1980; Hardesty; Indiana Covered Bridge Society, Inc.; Indiana Department of Commerce, 1986; Indiana Department of Highways, 1982)
Here is an excellent opportunity to see the once stone dam covered with cement.
This photograph is from a postcard in 1989 with the original 1868 covered bridge.
