Bridges of Indiana's Counties - Parke Co. - #36 Portland Mills (2/31)

Portland Mills Covered Bridge
July, 2009     dwm photo

The Portland Mills Covered Bridge is the second oldest in Parke County and among the four oldest in Indiana.

Like its cousin, Crooks Covered Bridge it has moved, but with a clearer history.

Built in 1856, it was moved 105 years later because its location was being flooded to create a lake.  It replaced another covered bridge destroyed by fire in 1960.

It nearly fell apart after that, closed to traffic in 1982.  A grant allowed restoration and it was restored in 1996 and re-opened to traffic.

Little Raccoon Creek under Portland Mills Bridge  (dwm)

As the name indicates, a mill followed settlement to serve surrounding farms which needed a place to grind their grain.  The bridge took farmer's grain to the mill.

Agriculture is the center of commerce, and to turn the wheels of commerce, it was important to find a source of power.  That power was found in streams and rivers.

It was never a large community, but for years Portland Mills' farms and the supporting businesses sustained lives and families.

Its legacy endures.

Parke County, IN
internet image

Thanks to volunteers, fundraisers, lovers of design and history we get to enjoy Portland Mills years after the old Mill Stream was overrun by the waters of Cecil M. Harden Lake.

Portland Mills Covered Bridge

Built:  1856 on Big Raccoon Creek. Moved in 1961 to Little Raccoon Creek

Style:  Burr Arch

Length: 130 feet over Little Raccoon Creek.  Renovated and reopened to traffic in 1996.

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