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Roseville or Coxville, Parke 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/14-61-09#2
Parke County Number: PC-18
County: Parke County
Township: Florida
Town/Village: Coxville
Bridge Name: Roseville or Coxville
Crosses: Big Raccoon Creek
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 2
Length: 263' floor, 281' roofline
Roadway Width:
Built: 1910
Builder: Jefferson P. Van Fossen
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N39 39.134
Longitude: W087 17.631
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 6.9 miles south of US36 in Rockville on US41, then left 4.2 miles on Coxville Rd. and just left 120' on CR325W. At Coxville.

Roseville or Coxville Bridge, Florida, Parke County, IN Built 1910
© Lisa Plamondon

Roseville or Coxville Bridge, Florida, Parke County, IN Built 1910
Richard Donovan / Trish Kane Collection

Roseville or Coxville Bridge, Florida, Parke County, IN Built 1910
Todd Clark Collection

Roseville or Coxville Bridge, Florida, Parke County, IN Built 1910
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, March 14, 2020

Comments:
14-panel truss. This is the third bridge at this location. The first covered bridge was built in 1865. Per the Brazil Daily Times, April 11, 1910, "Rockville, Ind., April 10.----Following the dynamiting and burning of the Coxville bridge early this morning, Charles Doren and Clint Shaw were placed in jail on suspicion of knowing something of the affair. They declined to give any statement and were held for investigation of the destruction of the bridge. It is said that Doren and Shaw had been drinking last night. They are single men and live in Coxville, ten miles south of Rockville. The burned structure was a large wooden, covered bridge, 300 feet long. It was built in 1867 by J. J. Daniels. The loss to the county is more than $10,000. In addition the destruction of the bridge is a great inconvenience to people living in the south part of the county. From all appearances the men who destroyed the bridge first tried to wreck it with dynamite. A heavy charge was exploded on the middle tier but it did not tear down the bridge. The structure was then set on fire and since the timber was dry it burned fiercely. When the blaze was discovered it was too late to save the bridge. It is hinted that others are implicated in the affair but the authorities will give out no statement until the case is thoroughly investigated." The men pled guilty. The county requested bids for a new concrete structure. Apparently, the cost was too high and a new covered bridge was built. J.P. Van Fossen and his brother J.L. Van Fossen were involved in building at least four of Parke County’s covered bridges. An early photo of the bridge shows the portal lettered with J.P. Van Fossen as the contractor and J. Brooks as the builder. A later photo has a portal crediting J.J. Daniels as the builder. It was again changed to VanFossen.

Sources:
Rau, Harold. A Guide to the Covered Bridges of Parke County, Indiana, 2016, pages 56-57
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 22

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