Bridges of Indiana's Counties - #40 Parke Co. - West Union (6/31)

Parke County's longest (standing) covered bridge.
July, 2009   dwm photo

The bridge is one the last pieces of West Union, Indiana.

According to its Wikipedia page, the bridge and a few houses remain.  The school, post office, and railroad are gone.  The Wabash Erie Canal was reclaimed by farmers long ago.

Now as a frame of reference, the West Union bridge is located by its proximity to Montezuma, south-southeast of the bridge.

The West Union Bridge is the third in this location after the first two fell apart.

Notable bridge builder J.J. Daniels and his crew built it in 1876.

The West Union bridge is considered one of the best
remaining Burr Arch Truss bridges.  7/2009 (dwm)

It looks similar to the Medora bridge, which is longer, in terms of how it crosses Sugar Creek.

When built, the covered bridge was part of the stagecoach trail to Lafayette and part of a longer trail from Terre Haute to Fort Wayne.

Closed to traffic in 1964, it is only open for pedestrians now.

It is the longest standing covered bridge in Parke County and the fourth longest in the state.

The Parke County webpage indicates more water flows under this bridge than any other in the county.

While the bridge is one of the last vestiges of West Union.  The early town seems to have vanished from the history books.  I suspect early settlers thought the bridge would bring commerce and people.

Parke Co. (Internet image)

When they moved on to nearby Montezuma, the winds of time erased West Union from the map.

West Union Covered Bridge Facts
Built:  1876 by J.J. Daniels
Style:  Burr Arch Truss
Length: 315 feet over Sugar Creek