Vermont Bridge

The Vermont Bridge is Howard County's last surviving covered bridge and a rare rescue story among Indiana's historic spans. Built in 1875 by the Smith Bridge Company of Toledo, Ohio, using its Smith Type IV (sometimes called Type #3) truss design, the bridge originally crossed Wildcat Creek near the small community of Vermont, about five miles east of Kokomo, in what was then Howard Township. In 1957, plans for the new Kokomo Reservoir called for flooding the valley where the bridge stood, and the span was slated for demolition in favor of a modern concrete crossing. M.E. White, president of the Howard County Historical Society, campaigned to save the structure, and in 1957-58 the bridge was moved intact, at an estimated cost of about $10,000, to Highland Park in Kokomo's Center Township, where it was re-erected over Kokomo Creek near the west end of Deffenbaugh Street. Measuring 98 feet, it now holds the distinction of being the last Smith Type truss of its kind remaining in Indiana. The bridge received Historic American Engineering Record documentation (HAER IN-30) and was granted local Historic Landmark status by the Kokomo Common Council in January 2012. Today the bright red bridge is open to pedestrians within the park, a favorite backdrop for weddings and photography, though it carries no vehicle traffic.