West Union
Bridge
Built in 1876 by Joseph J.
Daniels
Location: Located north of West Union.
Size: The length of this bridge is 315' +10' +17'. The
width is 17' with 14.5' of clearance. It has a double Burr Arch 2
span truss. The foundation is Hewn stone.
Original Cost: Between $8,900 and $16,125.
Repair/Restoration History: Third covered bridge at this
site. Star Mills and Harrison Bridges preceded. After the flood of
1913, the abutments were damaged and required $7,000 for repair.
New south approach of poured concrete was constructed in 1931.
Bypassed in 1964.
Bridge History: The West Union Bridge was constructed
following damages to the Harrison Bridge in 1876. The Harrison
Bridge may have still been standing while the West Union Bridge was
constructed. The Parke County Commissioners expressed their faith
in Joseph J. Daniels in contracting with him to build a third
bridge at this site. The West Union Bridge was completed in
September, 1876.
The West Union Bridge is the longest remaining Parke County
Covered Bridge. (The Clinton Bridge, was 730 feet long.)
More water passes under this bridge near the mouth of Sugar
Creek than any of the other remaining covered bridges. Earlier,
narrower abutments were damaged in 1866 and 1875. The West Union
Bridge is longer than the two preceding bridges but the newer
abutments were also damaged and repaired in 1913 and 1931.
The West Union Bridge and its predecessors were used for stage
coach traffic to Lafayette, as was the Armiesburg Bridge. They were
on the route of the "Indiana State Highway", which was established
by the Legislature in 1827 and was to extend from Fort Wayne to
Terre Haute.
The Wabash and Erie Canal was east of this bridge. There were
two or more connections with Sugar Creek to allow access to
upstream shipping sources which include Rockport. There are other
references to a canal aqueduct which may have been used for
pedestrian traffic during high water after the canal was abandoned.
The B&O Railroad crossed the Lafayette Road just south of the
West Union Bridge and crossed Sugar Creek east of the bridge.
The West Union Bridge has a noticeable arch consistent with the
Burr Arches. Other covered bridges were built with this arch, which
settled straight when weight was applied. The south portal has a
Daniels Arch, while the north portal is now squared off. The roof
is wood shake shingles.
The cache is a Lock & Lock. Please hide it as well or better
than you found it. This is the second cache I have hidden in this
area. The first one kept disappearing so I archived it and moved
the location slightly. This one is known as West Union Covered
Bridge II. I have included one of my silver bullets in the cache
for the first to find.
While you are here make sure you find the other cache by the
Winningham Boys just east of this one. You should be able to follow
the deer trails. Also there is a nice sand bar between the two
caches where you can get a nice view of the east side of the
bridge. For you benchmark hunters there is one on the south side of
the bridge.