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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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New Brownsville (relocated), Bartholomew 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/14-03-08
County: Bartholomew County
Township: Columbus
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: New Brownsville (relocated)
Crosses: Pond in Mill Race Park
Truss type: Similar to Long
Spans: 1
Length: 85' span, 102' roofline
Roadway Width:
Built: 1840 (M1986)
Builder: Mason, Adam
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N39 12.380
Longitude: W085 55.752
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 1.9 miles east of jct I-65 Exit 68 on IN46, then 0.3 miles left on Brown St., then 300' left on 5th St. and straight across into Millrace Park 0.7 miles on Carl Miske Dr. to the bridge.

New Brownsville Bridge, Columbus, Bartholomew County, IN Built 1840
Richard Donovan / Trish Kane Collection

New Brownsville Bridge, Columbus, IN Built 1840
Dale J. Travis Photo

New Brownsville Bridge, Columbus, Bartholomew County, IN Built 1840 (1986)
Photo by Ron Branson, Courtesy County History Preservation Society

New Brownsville Bridge, Columbus, Bartholomew County, IN Built 1840 (M1986)
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, September 27, 2015

Comments:
Originally 14-81-01 (1840-1976), then 14-49-19 (1976-1986) and now 14-03-08 (since 1986). The New Brownsville Covered Bridge crosses a pond in Mill Race Park in the City of Columbus. Although often referred to as a Long truss, the bridge does not include the wedges using for pre-stressing in that patented design. It was originally built near Brownsville, in Union County by Adam Mason in 1840. In 1974 a group from the Eagle Creek Reservoir in Marion County purchased this bridge. It was disassembled and trucked to the park at Eagle Creek Reservoir where it sat in storage. The plan was to assemble it in that place, but this never came to pass. When the Clifty Covered Bridge, which had been moved to Mill Race Park in Columbus, was damaged beyond repair in 1985, the City of Columbus purchased the disassembled bridge and had it shipped to Mill Race Park where, in 1986, it was reassembled. In its current configuration, its length has been reduced to 85 feet, or 102 feet including the overhang at each end, while the portal clearance is still 15 feet 6 inches wide and 15 feet 6 inches high. This structure is listed as #14-03-02 in the 1989 World Guide (the same designation earlier used to identify the Tanneyhill Covered Bridge in George Gould's 1977 list), however, during its brief stay in Marion County it was identified as #14-49-19, and earlier still as #14-81-01 when it was located in Union County.

Sources:
Ketcham, Bryan E.. Covered Bridges on the Byways of Indiana, 1949, page 198
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/bartholomew1.htm
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 13

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