Narrows Covered Bridge

The Narrows Covered Bridge, sometimes informally called the Turkey Run bridge for its setting within Turkey Run State Park, is the third bridge to stand at this crossing of Sugar Creek, following two earlier structures built by pioneer Salmon Lusk in 1840 and 1847 that were lost to flooding. The present bridge was built in 1882 by Joseph A. Britton, whose winning bid of $3,400, after an initial ask of $3,750, beat out proposals from several iron bridge companies as well as an independent wood-bridge builder; it marked the very first covered bridge of Britton's long and prolific career in the county. The single-span Burr Arch Truss structure stands beside the historic Lusk Mill site on the eastern edge of Turkey Run State Park, one of the most scenic and heavily visited spots in the Indiana state park system. It was bypassed to vehicle traffic in 1960 and rebuilt by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in 1977 for continued public access on foot, making it one of the most photographed covered bridges in the state, reachable by road, hiking trail, or canoe. It is further documented in the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER No. IN-49). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1978, the Narrows Covered Bridge remains a beloved pedestrian landmark today.