Nevins Bridge
Built in 1920 by Joseph A.
Britton & Son
Location: Located 1 mile southeast of Catlin in Raccoon
Township.
Size: 155' long +7' +7'. 16' wide and has 13' of
clearance. It has a Burr Arch 1 Span truss. The foundation is
concrete.
Original Cost: $11,987
Bridge History: The Nevins Bridge was built at
Gilkerson’s Ford near Gilkerson’s Mill. Thomas Gilkerson came from
Mercer County, Kentucky, in 1821. He built a mill in 1823. The
Gilkerson community was nominated as the county seat in 1824 but
lost out to Rockville. He worked the farm with his son, John Calvin
Gilkerson, and became quite prosperous until he defaulted on a debt
and lost the farm and mill in a sheriff’s sale. Father and son
worked hard to recover the property. They regained possession, and
John Calvin trained a yoke of cattle to help rebuild the brush dam.
They rebuilt the mill in 1837 and added a sash saw sawmill to the
grist mill. The burrs required 80 days to shape for use.
The Gilkersons worked as blacksmiths, carpenters, farmers, and
millers. A small community was built around their business. From
1839 to 1846 they built several flatboats which were sent down
Little Raccoon, Big Raccoon, and the Wabash during spring freshets.
John C. Gilkerson was much respected, serving as Justice of the
Peace for 33 years and as an elder in the Rockville Presbyterian
Church.
Thomas Levi Nevins, born in 1869, purchased the Gilkerson
property in 1897. The Nevins Bridge was named for him. He studied
the mill and preserved the mill relics. In 1906 he was part owner
of the Bloomingdale Mill and in 1910 he built a flour mill in
Rosedale on the foundations of an older burned out mill. In 1911,
after 18 months of operation, his mill burned down to the
foundation. He is also remembered as a teacher at the nearby school
at Minshall.
Two builder/contractors bid on this bridge to cross Little
Raccoon Creek. Joseph A. Britton and Elmer Gerard each submitted
bids. Elmer Gerard won the award for the 1915 Bowsher Ford Bridge
and it was built by J.A. Britton’s son, Eugene Britton. J.A.
Britton was awarded the Nevins Bridge contract, but Eugene Britton
was probably a major contributor as he might have been, had Elmer
Gerard won the award.
This bridge has "Daniels Arched Portals" rather than the
"Britton Portals" preferred by Joseph and Eugene Britton. It has a
wood shingle roof. Rather than the carefully cut connecting keys of
earlier bridges, the keys were square cut and reinforced by iron
straps, iron rods were used to brace the sides and roof, a feature
shared with the Portland Mills Bridge.
The cache is a 50 caliber ammo box. Please hide it as well or
better than you found it. There is a Sacagawea dollar in the cache
for the first one to find.