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Hillsdale (original location), Vermillion County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: IN/14-83-03
County: Vermillion County
Township: Helt
Town/Village: Hillsdale
Bridge Name: Hillsdale (original location)
Crosses: Little Raccoon Creek
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 104' floor, 124' overall
Roadway Width:
Built: 1876
Builder: Joseph J. Daniels
When Lost: 1973
Cause: Moved
Latitude: N39 47.57
Longitude: W087 24.57
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 33-16N-9W, off 36 - 1 mile West of Hillsdale.
Comments:

Hillsdale Bridge (original location), Hillsdale, Vermillion County, IN Built 1876 Moved 1973
Todd Clark Collection

Hillsdale Bridge (relocated), Helt, Vermillion County, IN Built 1876 (1973)
Bill Caswell Photo, July 2007

Hillsdale Bridge (original location), Hillsdale, Vermillion County, IN Built 1876 Moved 1973
Richard Donovan / Trish Kane Collection

Hillsdale Bridge, Helt, IN Built 1876
Dale J. Travis Photo

Comments:
[35-16N-10W]. The Hillsdale Covered Bridge, also known as Possum Bottom or Jackson's Ford Covered Bridge, originally crossed the Little Raccoon Creek in Section 33, Township 16 North, and Range 9 West, about 1 mile west of Hillsdale, Vermillion County. This single span Burr Arch Truss structure has a length of 104 feet, or 124 feet including the 10-foot overhang at each end, is 13 feet 6 inches wide and 12 feet high. Built in 1876 by Joseph J. Daniels, The Hillsdale Covered Bridge was move to its present location in 1973, becoming the centerpiece of the Ernie Pyle Rest Park on State Road 36 in Section 35, Township 16 North, and Range 10 West, east of Dana, Vermillion County. Though no historical marker is present, this structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Sources:
Ketcham, Bryan E.. Covered Bridges on the Byways of Indiana, 1949, page 99
Gould, George E.. Indiana's Covered Bridges Thru the Years, 1977
County History Preservation Society (no longer accessible). Covered Bridges of Indiana, 2002, http://www.countyhistory.com/coveredbridge/vermillion3.htm
Travis, Dale. 'Indiana Covered Bridges List', updated to 11 Feb 2005, http://www.dalejtravis.com/cblist/cbin.htm (8 Mar 2005)
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 29