The Narrows Covered Bridge - Parke County, IN
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KC9PDY
N 39° 53.451 W 087° 11.134
16S E 484134 N 4415659
The Narrows Covered Bridge was posted to the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1978 (#78000404)
Waymark Code: WMX5YC
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 12/02/2017
Views: 2
Narrows Covered Bridge spans a scenic sandstone gorge carved by Sugar Creek. The bridge sits at the eastern edge of Turkey Run State Park and is accessible by several hiking trails and by county road. This particular stretch of Sugar Creek is also a very popular canoe route, so visitors to this bridge come by foot, by car, and by boat.
The bridge was built in 1882 by Joseph A. Britton and is believed to be the first covered bridge in his long career (he had previously built an open bridge over Billie Creek). Britton made good use of the sandstone gorge by carving the rock at the southern end of the bridge to serve as a natural abutment. The north abutment used the living rock supplemented by cut stone.
Britton used a burr arch construction, which in this case was perhaps a bit unrefined given that the arch comes to a slight point instead of being a smooth curve. The single span covers 121 feet plus 8 feet of overhang on each end. The bridge was in use until 1960, when it was bypassed with a concrete arched bridge. Now the bridge is open to pedestrians only.
County / Borough / Parish: Sugar Creek Twp, Parke County, IN
Year listed: 1978
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Engineering; Transportation
Periods of significance: 1875-1899
Historic function: Road-related
Current function: Park
Privately owned?: no
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: [Web Link]
Street address: Not listed
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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