Bridges of Indiana's Counties - Wabash Co - #90 Roann

The Roann Covered Bridge.  10/15/2011 dwm photo

This is it - the last of the 90 standing covered bridges in the Hoosier state.

I should note the reason this is the "last" bridge is I wrote this blog series alphabetically by county.  In each county, I tried to do them in order of age with the oldest first.

It took three years to visit them all.  In fact, it was only after several visits to Parke County's bridges when I decided to "collect" them.

The name of this bridge, and the town where it stands, is interesting.  According to local historians - two young women were involved.

In 1853 a survey was made of the town.  When finished, the surveyor and others gathered in the local tavern for food and drink while deciding on a name.  Back in the kitchen, the daughter of the tavern owner, Ann Beckner was hard at work joined by another young lady, Ann Roe.

The Eel River and Roann
bridge. 10/15/2011 (dwm)

After much discussion, the surveyor suggested they name the town for the cooks... the two Ann's.  A few minutes later, the town had its name, Roann.

The community of 400 celebrates the bridge and its roots each September, the weekend after Labor Day with the Roann Covered Bridge Festival.

A Howe Truss - the second most
popular truss style for Indiana's
covered bridges. 10/15/11 (dwm)

The Roann bridge is built like most of the others, but the opening under the roof and along one side allow more natural light than most.  It also means more rain and snow can find its way inside, so this was most likely after it was built.

Wabash County, IN
internet image

Like the North Manchester bridge nearby, this one was also built by the Smith Bridge Company.

This is a long bridge, two spans, across the Eel River.  Thanks to a modern bridge less than a mile downstream, fans and photographers can glimpse Roann crossing part of the river.  The rest of the river and bridge is on the other side of the island.

Roann Covered Bridge Facts

Built:  1872 by the Smith Bridge Company

Style:  Howe Truss

Length: 288 feet in two spans over the Eel River

This wraps up quick looks at the Bridges of Indiana's Counties - but there are more covered bridge blogs ahead.  Next week will be a look at my favorite Indiana bridges; then a look at covered bridges in Michigan and Illinois running into the month of May.  There are two bridges in Michigan I'm missing and several in Illinois yet to shoot.  

Of course there are nearly a dozen in nearby Iowa - which I'm hoping to photograph over a long weekend sometime this year or next.  In the meantime, you can check out the bridges of Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan by following the link.