Holton Bridge
Ripley County, Otter Creek Township, near Holton. Built 1884, 112 ft. long. Nearly a twin of the Busching Bridge; bypassed for cars in 1996 but still open to walkers.
Built in 1884 by Thomas A. Hardman of Brookville — the same contractor responsible for the nearby Busching Bridge — the Holton Bridge (also called the Otter Creek Bridge) is a single-span modified Howe truss crossing Otter Creek about 1.5 miles northwest of Holton in Ripley County. Hardman, who built four of the county's seven covered bridges, used his signature design pairing wooden compression members with iron tie rods and turnbuckles, a system that resisted the cord separation that plagued many all-timber trusses. The bridge measures 112 feet along its floor (120 feet including overhangs), with a portal 15 feet 6 inches wide and 12 feet 6 inches high, and like its Busching twin displays red vertical siding with horizontal, awning-covered windows at midspan. Together, Busching and Holton are Ripley County's only surviving covered bridges, out of eleven once documented in the county. The Holton Bridge carried vehicular traffic until 1996, when the road was rerouted and the span bypassed; it remains open to pedestrians and is a popular stop for covered-bridge enthusiasts. On March 13, 2019, the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing its engineering significance as one of the last Hardman-built spans in the region.
