details

Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

Home

Shelhorn or Milroy, Rush 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/14-70-15x
County: Rush County
Township: Anderson
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Shelhorn or Milroy
Crosses: Little Flatrock River
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 85'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1878
Builder: Archibald M. Kennedy & Sons
When Lost: 1933
Cause: Moved
Latitude: N39 28.575
Longitude: W085 28.719
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 23/24-12N-9E. Southwest of Milroy.

If you have a photo of this bridge, please contact us.

Comments:
10-panel truss. The bridge was originally built in 1878 by Archibald M. Kennedy near Milroy in Rush County, where it crossed the Little Flatrock River as IN/14-70-15. It was moved to Crown Point, Lake County, in 1933 where it still stands on the Lake County Fairgrounds. Now IN/14-45-01. Per the Rushville Republican, January 21, 1931, the covered bridge southwest of Milroy near the Fred Shelhorn farm experienced an attempted arson on January 16, 1931. Only relatively minor damage was done before the fire was extinguished. Per the Rushville Republican, June 15, 1933, "Covered Wooden Bridge To Go From County To Hammond - A covered wooden bridge in Rush county will be removed to Lake county where it will be erected over a small creek in the fairgrounds at Hammond. The bridge — purchased by Lake county officials for $20 — is the one which has spanned Little Flatrock creek two miles southwest of Milroy since 1878. The price of the bridge includes a 200-mile delivery haul to Hammond, Lake county officials stated. The structure, known as the Shelhom bridge, is being torn down prior to the erection of a new bridge by the state highway department, this road having been included by the state department as part of state road 3’s new route. Work of dismantling the old bridge was under way Thursday, according to residents of that neighborhood. The bridge will be torn down in sections and removed by highway trucks to Lake county’s fairgrounds at Hammond where it will be reassembled over a small creek. A temporary bridge is being erected over Little Flatrock at the site of the old one, persons living in that section said. The Shelhom bridge was one of a large number of covered wooden structures erected by the late A. M. Kennedy and his son, E. L. Kennedy, in this section. Kennedy bridges have long been known for their sturdiness of structure. The bridge being dismantled for state road 3’s new route was erected by E. L. Kennedy in 1878. There are approximately a dozen covered wooden bridges still serving the public in Rush county, most of these structures being Kennedy bridges. Rush county residents are inclined to disagree with the contention of Lake county officials that the bridge they purchased is one of three of this particular type of bridge remaining in the United States. Several local persons claim that the Shelhorn bridge is the same type as a number of others erected by the Kennedys in Rush and adjoining counties late in the 19th century."

Sources:
Rushville Republican, January 21, 1931, p.1.
Rushville Republican, June 15, 1933, p.1.
Gould, George E.. Indiana's Covered Bridges Thru the Years, 1977

The images in this collection may be protected under copyright law and may only be used for educational, teaching, and research purposes.
If the intended use is beyond these purposes, it is the responsibility of the user to obtain the appropriate permissions from the owner stated in the image's credits.