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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Bowsher Ford, 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/14-61-33
Parke County Number: PC-32
County: Parke County
Township: Liberty
Town/Village: Tangier
Bridge Name: Bowsher Ford
Crosses: Mill Creek
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 72' floor, 92' roofline
Roadway Width:
Built: 1915
Builder: Eugene Britton
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N39 55.786
Longitude: W087 21.107
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 0.7 miles east of CR700W and Howard on CR1050N, then 1.0 miles left on Tow Path Rd. (CR333) and 0.2 miles right on Bowsher Rd.

Bowsher Ford Bridge, Tangier, Parke County, IN Built 1915
© Lisa Plamondon

Bowsher Ford Bridge, Tangier, Parke County, IN Built 1915
Richard Donovan / Trish Kane Collection

Bowsher Ford Bridge, Tangier, Parke County, IN Built 1915
Dale J. Travis Photo

Bowsher Ford Bridge, Liberty, Parke County, IN Built 1915
Bill & Jenn Caswell Photo, March 14, 2020

Comments:
[8-17N-8W]. 8-panel truss. The bridge was named after the stream ford it replaced. The ford was named for the Bowsher family who owned the land around it. Elmer Garrard was awarded the contract for the project and hired Eugene Britton, son of Joseph A. Britton to lead the construction crew.

Sources:
Ketcham, Bryan E.. Covered Bridges on the Byways of Indiana, 1949, page 96
Gould, George E.. Indiana's Covered Bridges Thru the Years, 1977
County History Preservation Society (no longer accessible). Covered Bridges of Indiana, 2002, http://www.countyhistory.com/coveredbridge/parke/bowsherford.htm
Rau, Harold. A Guide to the Covered Bridges of Parke County, Indiana, 2016, pages 16-17
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 25

Compilation 2026 Covered Spans of Yesteryear

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