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| Sim Smith's Bridge over Leatherwood Creek. 7/3/2009 dwm photo |
Simeon Smith owned land nearby when the bridge was proposed in 1882. His descendants still owned it 100 years later.
The mysterious story dates back to 1890, and a tragic accident involving a head-on collision.
A mother and young child were walking home from nearby Montezuma across the bridge when they were run over by a fast moving horse and buggy.
The driver in the buggy didn't see mother and child until it was too late. They were killed in the crash.
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| Leatherwood Creek April, 2010 (dwm) |
I didn't see or hear anything on our visit.
Maybe I should have timed my trip at dusk. Originally, the bridge was part of the Pikes Peak Highway, an overland route from Los Angeles to New York along with three other Parke County covered bridges.
Just as it might have disappeared in favor of a modern road, surveyors for United States Highway 36, the new Pikes Peak route, moved the road around the bridge.
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| Note this entry and the one in the top photo. 4/2010 (dwm) |
One of those repairs altered an entry to the bridge; J.A. Britton favored a squared off portal, but the north end was modified to a J.J. Daniels arched portal.
I really enjoyed taking photos of the Sim Smith because it offers more than a red box. The curving creek and roadside flora provided a very attractive setting.
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| Park County, IN internet image |
Built: 1883
Builder: J. A. Britton
Style: Burr Arch
Length: 84 feet across Leatherwood Creek
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