Conley's Ford Covered Bridge

The Conley's Ford Covered Bridge was built in 1906 and 1907 by J. Lawrence Van Fossen, spanning Big Raccoon Creek roughly midway between the villages of Mansfield and Bridgeton. At 212 feet long, it is one of the longer single-span Burr Arch Truss bridges in the county, notable among Parke County bridges for its use of white pine rather than the more common poplar lumber. Today it still carries County Road 550 East under a posted load limit, maintained by the county highway department. In 1991, the bridge underwent a significant restoration in which it was reroofed and resided, and its portals, originally in the "Daniels" style, were rebuilt to reflect the "Britton" portal style associated with builder Joseph A. Britton's later work, an unusual case of a bridge's appearance being altered during restoration. The span has been cited as among the longest single-span covered bridges built in the country for its era. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1978, as part of the Parke County Covered Bridges Multiple Property Submission, and remains a working rural bridge, connecting Raccoon Township farms along Big Raccoon Creek much as it has for well over a century.