Guilford Covered Bridge Essay

At one point in time, there were roughly 400 to 500 covered bridges in the state of Indiana. Beginning in 1835, Henry County contained the first covered bridge in Indiana history. In 1937, Indiana was home to 202 covered bridges; Dearborn County had two. By 1998, there was only one covered bridge in Dearborn County, and it is known as Guilford Covered Bridge (Covered Bridges in Indiana). Guilford Covered Bridge was built in 1879 by A.M. Kennedy and Sons, who had built around fifty covered bridges in Indiana by the 1900s. The bridge was built with a Burr arch truss located in Guilford, Indiana, over Tanners Creek as the entrance into the small town. The bridge was seventeen feet nine inches wide, twelve feet nine inches tall, and one hundred four feet long with a seven foot overhang at both ends. The bridge contained distinctive Kennedy aspects, including the distinguishing portal arch, with scrolls engraved in them, and the cornice blocks. The most uncommon part of the bridge was the floor. Made of wood paving blocks, the feature was unique in covered bridges. The one lane bridge had a shingle …show more content…
Two trucks were seen at the park that night, and two girls stayed at the park late. On Monday, September 20, 1993, a member of the Indiana State Fire Marshall’s Office, Indianapolis, and local firefighters collected samples of the bridge’s burnt shell. The state fire marshal predicted that the total loss of the bridge was $100,000 because of the historic value of the bridge (Abner, Arson Suspected in Guilford Covered Bridge Fire). A $1,000 reward was offered by Indiana Arson and Crime Association Incorporation of Indianapolis for finding the arsonist, yet no one was ever found. The Guilford Park board had hired an engineer to see if the bridge could be repaired (McNutt). The neighborhood couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that someone would ruin a piece of Guilford’s