Wilkens Mill
Bridge
Built in 1906 by William
Hendricks
Location: Located east of US 41, north of Indiana Highway
47, and 1/2 mile northwest of Turkey Run State Park.
Size: The length of this bridge is 102' +9' +9'. The
width is 16' with 13' of clearance. It has a Burr Arch 1 span
truss. The foundation is concrete.
Repair/Restoration History: Reroofed and resided in 1991
for $6,000.
Bridge History: Wilkins Mill was built in 1835 by Solomon
Jessup and Zimri Hunt. James Moore and Zimri Hunt’s log barn and
house are up the hill south of the bridge.
George Wilkins opened a store there in 1853. A carding mill was
operated there by Solomon Jessup and William Hunt.
The mill was sold to George Wilkins in 1855. He tore down the
old mill and built a new one. This was the source of the name
Wilkins Mill. This mill burned down in 1877. A new mill was built,
which stood until 1947.
Sugar Mill and Green Creek converged below the bridge site.
After one flood, the creek changed course leaving the bridge over a
dry bed for a period of time. Parke County creeks are still
changing course as they have for thousands of years. An eighty-five
year old covered bridge won’t make a difference. The creeks will go
where they wish.
This is the second of three covered bridges built by William
Hendricks.
The cache is a small Lock & Lock container. 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.