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Portland Mills or Dooley Station (relocated), Parke 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/14-61-21
Parke County Number: PC-04
County: Parke County
Township: Greene
Town/Village: Guion
Bridge Name: Portland Mills or Dooley Station (relocated)
Crosses: Little Raccoon Creek
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 130' floor, 146' roofline
Roadway Width:
Built: 1856 (M1961)
Builder: Henry Wolfe
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N39 51.645
Longitude: W087 05.343
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.2 miles east of the westerly jct of IN59 and IN236 on the combined routes, then 1.1 miles left on Saddle Club Rd., then 0.2 miles right on CR650N.

Portland Mills or Dooley Station Bridge (relocated location), Greene, Parke County, IN Built 1856
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, November 14, 2019

Portland Mills or Dooley Station Bridge (relocated location), Greene, Parke County, IN Built 1856
John V. Pontiere Jr Photo, Richard Donovan/Trish Kane Collection

Portland Mills Bridge (original location), Greene, Parke County, IN Built 1856 Moved 1961
Richard E. Roy Collection

Portland Mills or Dooley Station Bridge (relocated location), Greene, Parke County, IN Built 1856
Dale J. Travis Photo

Portland Mills or Dooley Station Bridge (relocated location), Greene, Parke County, IN Built 1856
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, November 14, 2019

Comments:
14-panel truss. The town of Portland Mills was to be covered with water as Lake Mansfield filled. The bridge was moved over 18 miles to replace the Dooley Station Bridge which was burned down in 1960. New abutments were poured so that the 130-foot-long bridge could be placed over the 73 foot span of Dooley Station. This was completed in January 1961. The bridge has deteriorated, sections of roof and siding are missing allowing in the damaging rain, and the northeast corner has been burned. The bridge was closed in 1982, when it was bypassed with a ford. In 1991 the bridge was in grave danger of collapse. Funds from a grant, several local organizations and donations allowed it to be restored to its original state in 1996. Listed as 14-61-04 on George Gould's list. Restored 1996.

Sources:
Ketcham, Bryan E.. Covered Bridges on the Byways of Indiana, 1949, page 103
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/parke/portlandmills.htm
Rau, Harold. A Guide to the Covered Bridges of Parke County, Indiana, 2016, pages 54-55
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 24

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