Mansfield Covered Bridge

The Mansfield Covered Bridge was built in 1867 by renowned bridge builder Joseph J. Daniels for a contract price of $12,200, making it one of his largest Parke County commissions. A double-span Burr Arch Truss structure crossing Big Raccoon Creek immediately beside the picturesque Mansfield Mill and its dam, it remains one of the longest standing covered bridges in the county at 247 feet. The bridge has long been a centerpiece of the town of Mansfield and the annual Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, drawing crowds to its mill-town setting each October. It has required periodic maintenance rather than wholesale rebuilding: it was closed briefly in 1980 for abutment, roof, and decking repairs, and its roof and deck were replaced again in 1990. In April 2005, an arsonist responsible for burning the Bridgeton Covered Bridge was apprehended near Mansfield after an unsuccessful attempt to set this bridge ablaze as well, a close call that residents still recount. Documented in the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER No. IN-44) and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1978, the Mansfield Covered Bridge continues to carry vehicle traffic today under a posted load limit, standing as one of the most photographed bridges in the county.