Williams Bridge
Lawrence County, Spice Valley Township, near Williams. Built 1884, 373 ft. long, two spans. Indiana's second-longest covered bridge, a Howe truss over the East Fork White River.
Built in 1884 by master bridge builder Joseph J. Daniels, the Williams Bridge carries a two-span Howe truss design across the East Fork of the White River in Spice Valley Township, roughly eight miles southwest of Bedford and two miles downriver from the Williams Dam. At 373 feet in total length, with a deck width of 14.7 feet and vertical clearance of 19.2 feet, it is the second-longest covered bridge in Indiana, trailing only the three-span, 434-foot Medora Covered Bridge in Jackson County, which has been closed to all but pedestrian traffic since 1972. That distinction made Williams Bridge the longest covered bridge in the state still open to vehicular traffic at the time of its National Register of Historic Places listing on November 9, 1981. Its imposing double span over the wide East Fork made it a vital crossing for the rural community of Williams and surrounding Spice Valley Township for over a century. Structural concerns eventually caught up with the aging span, and Lawrence County closed the bridge to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic on September 20, 2010. It remains standing today as a preserved but closed historic landmark, periodically the site of community events such as the Williams Covered Bridge Dinner, and a popular photography destination for visitors exploring Indiana's Limestone Country region.
