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Jackson or Rockport Wright's Mill, 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/14-61-28
Parke County Number: PC-28
County: Parke County
Township: Penn
Town/Village: Annapolis
Bridge Name: Jackson or Rockport Wright's Mill
Crosses: Sugar Creek
Truss type: Burr (Double Arch)
Spans: 1
Length: 207' floor, 225' roofline
Roadway Width:
Built: 1861
Builder: Joseph J. Daniels
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N39 52.802
Longitude: W087 16.946
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 4.1 miles north of Bloomingdale on Main St. which becomes CR25 (B'Dale Rd.) and/or N50W. At Annapolis.

Jackson Bridge, Penn, Parke County, IN Built 1861
© Lisa Plamondon

Jackson Bridge, Penn, Parke County, IN Built 1861
Richard Donovan / Trish Kane Collection

Jackson Bridge, Penn, Parke County, IN Built 1861
Dale J. Travis Photo

Jackson Bridge, Penn, Parke County, IN Built 1861
Bob Sheldon Photo, July 22, 2012

Jackson Bridge, Penn, Parke County, IN Built 1861
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, November 14, 2019

Comments:
[35-17N-8W]. This is the oldest Daniels' remaining and was the first covered bridge he built on a roadway. He had previously constructed railroad covered bridges. The contract to build this bridge and one at Star Mill north of West Union was awarded to William D. Daniels in March 1861. Joseph Daniels acted as an agent for his brother and led the construction crew. The bridge was ready for final inspection by the County Commissioners on November 9, 1861. Daniels dedicated the structure to Andrew Jackson and had the portals lettered with “The Federal Union: It must be preserved.” It was repaired, resided and reroofed after being damaged by the 1913 flood. It also received significant work in 1977 at a cost of $75,000. Though no historical marker is present, the Jackson Covered Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It was removed from its abutments in February 2007 for rehabilitation.

Sources:
Ketcham, Bryan E.. Covered Bridges on the Byways of Indiana, 1949, page 91
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/jackson.htm
Rau, Harold. A Guide to the Covered Bridges of Parke County, Indiana, 2016, pages 30-31
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 24

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