Neet Covered Bridge
Parke County, Adams Township, south of Rockville. Built 1904, 144 ft. long. Reportedly the last covered bridge built by master builder J.J. Daniels, at age 78.
The Neet Covered Bridge, also known locally as the Dietrich Bridge, was built in 1904 by Joseph J. Daniels, reportedly his final covered bridge commission, undertaken when the veteran builder was 78 years old. A single-span Burr Arch Truss structure with an 8-ton load limit, it carries a rural road across Little Raccoon Creek south of Rockville on what is now signed as part of the county's "Red Route" driving tour. Its name honors the Neet family, either Joseph W. Neet or George M. Neet, early landowners along the creek, though the property later passed to Robert E. Dietrich, giving rise to the bridge's alternate name. The bridge has required only modest maintenance over the decades; in 1989, members of Rockville Boy Scout Troop 469 repainted the structure as a community service project. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 22, 1978, as part of the county's Multiple Property Submission, the Neet Covered Bridge remains an active rural crossing today, valued both for its scenic setting and its connection to the last chapter of J.J. Daniels's long bridge-building career in Parke County.
