Possum Bottom Covered Bridge

Possum Bottom Covered Bridge, also recorded in historical documentation as the Jackson's Ford Bridge and the Hillsdale Bridge, is a Burr Arch Truss span built in 1876 by noted Indiana bridge builder Joseph J. Daniels. It originally stood over Little Raccoon Creek near the small crossroads community of Possum Bottom in Helt Township, close to where State Road 63 crosses US 36 today. The single-span timber structure measures 131 feet long and 14 feet wide. In 1972 the bridge was carefully dismantled and reassembled at the Ernie Pyle Rest Park on US 36 east of Dana — named for the famed World War II correspondent born nearby — where it now serves as a pedestrian shelter over a landscaped gully rather than its original creek. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 10, 1994 (NRHP reference #94000584), documented in a nomination prepared by Arthur Bonwell. The bridge's build year, builder, original location, and 1972 relocation are sometimes catalogued separately under the alternate name "Hillsdale Bridge," but all available evidence indicates these refer to the same surviving structure. The bridge stands today, well preserved and open to visitors at the rest park.