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Medora or Dark, Jackson County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: IN/14-36-04
County: Jackson County
Township: Carr - Driftwood
Town/Village: Medora
Bridge Name: Medora or Dark
Crosses: East Fork, White River (a.k.a. Driftwood Fork)
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 3
Length: 434' floor, 458' roofline
Roadway Width:
Built: 1875
Builder: Joseph J. Daniels
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N38 49.116
Longitude: W086 08.837
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 2.4 miles west of jct IN135 on IN235 to the bridge on the right side of the road. East of Medora.

Medora or Dark Bridge, Carr-Driftwood, IN Built 1875
Richard Donovan / Trish Kane Collection

Medora or Dark Bridge, Carr-Driftwood, Jackson County, IN Built 1875
Todd Clark Collection

Medora or Dark Bridge, Carr-Driftwood, Jackson County, IN Built 1875
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, September 27, 2015

Comments:
This structure is the last standing triple span covered bridge in Indiana. The Medora Bridge has a length of 434 feet, or 458 feet including the 12-foot overhang at each end, with a portal clearance 16 feet wide by 12 feet 6 inches high. Built in 1875 by Joseph J. Daniels, the structure was bypassed in 1972 and now sits beside the new concrete bridge. In 2000 the Allocation Plan of the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program provided $69,000 to be used for structural repairs along with $617,400 from other sources. Per the Jackson County Banner (Brownstown), November 12, 1874, "Medora Bridge. - The contract for the construction of the Medora bridge, across White river at Mahan's Ferry, was awarded last week to J. J Daniels, of Rockville, for $21,000, payable in County Bonds. The length of the bridge will be 430 feet. It will be similar to the Brownstown Bridge. Rock for the abutments and piers are now being delivered upon the ground. It is Mr Daniels' intention to have everything in readiness for active work early next spring. He is the same gentleman who built the Brownstown Bridge. We congratulate the live men down below upon their enterprise and liberality." Per the Seymour Times, February 26, 1876, "Jackson County Bridges. - The bridge over Driftwood, near Medora. was built by J. J. Daniels, of Rockville. contractor, in 1875, and cost $16,000, which was paid by the county of Jackson, and the bridge made free to the public.

Sources:
Ketcham, Bryan E.. Covered Bridges on the Byways of Indiana, 1949, page 23
Jackson County Banner (Brownstown), November 12, 1874, p.5.
Seymour Times, February 26, 1876, p.1.
Gould, George E.. Indiana's Covered Bridges Thru the Years, 1977
Travis, Dale. 'Indiana Covered Bridges List', updated to 11 Feb 2005, http://www.dalejtravis.com/cblist/cbin.htm (8 Mar 2005)
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 19

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