Old Red Covered Bridge 14-26-01
Essay
Written by Garrett DiDomizioOne of a handful of Washer bridges in the area, and a survivor above all, in probably the most authentic condition of the three surviving Washer bridges. The bridge built in 1875 would have been one of Washer’s bridges built in the mid part of his career in that industry. Built likely in part from hand hewn lumber nearby, this bridge stands as a testament to the ingenuity and craftsmanship of such bridges and of the Washer bridges as a whole, and stands to this day as a testimony to that period of history.
Facts
- Overview
- Covered bridge over Big Bayou on Barnes Road
- Location
- Gibson County, Indiana
- Status
- Bypassed 1976; Open to pedestrians
- Future prospects
- County has done a thorough rehab of structure with fresh paint and added security to deter vandals.
- History
- Built 1875 by William T. Washer
- Builder
- - William T. Washer
- Design
- Smith type #4 truss
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 80.0 ft.
Total length: 174.8 ft.
Deck width: 14.1 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 14.0 ft.
- Recognition
- Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +38.25833, -87.87889 (decimal degrees)
38°15'30" N, 87°52'44" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/423106/4234843 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Grayville
- Inventory numbers
- INNBI 2600033 (Indiana bridge number on the National Bridge Inventory)
WGCB 14-26-01 (World Guide to Covered Bridges number)
BH 16180 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection report (as of May 2018)
- Overall condition: Fair
Substructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 19 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com
Update Log
- January 15, 2021: Essay added by Garrett DiDomizio
- October 10, 2020: New photos from Garrett DiDomizio
- March 29, 2019: New photo from Tony Dillon
- August 26, 2018: New photos from Carl Crasher
- May 12, 2018: New photo from Mike Daffron
- July 25, 2017: New photos from Jack Schmidt
- March 25, 2017: New photos from Mike Daffron
- April 28, 2010: New photos from Robert Stephenson
- March 15, 2010: Updated by Robert Stephenson: Street view
- March 23, 2009: Updated by Robert Stephenson
- March 22, 2009: Updated by Robert Stephenson: Overview and design
- June 16, 2008: Updated by Robert Stephenson: Builder
- June 15, 2008: Changed name
- June 6, 2008: Updated by Max Johnson
- June 6, 2008: New photos from Robert Stephenson
Sources
- Robert Stephenson - seinfeld99 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- Dale Travis Covered Bridge List
- Mike Daffron - daffmikron [at] gmail [dot] com
- Jack Schmidt - jjturtle [at] earthlink [dot] net
- Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Garrett DiDomizio - garrettdidomizio [at] gmail [dot] com
Comments
Im sorry, I meant to post those on the Wheeling covered bridge page. Anyways, both of these Gibson county covered bridges are looking great after some tlc! I hated seeing all graffiti on old red covered bridge before! These photos were taken right before the paint and maintenance in March of 2020 as well.
March 2020 before refurbishment and landscaping
Went for a midnight drive to this bridge! A new coat of paint and some security measures were all that it took to make this bridge really shine! One of my favorites!
This is better known as the Old Red Covered Bridge. It is in the middle of nowhere in the Wabash flats and can be rather tricky to find. The bridge has been bypassed by a lower culvert crossing since the 1970s. There have also been roads in the area which apparantly fell into non-existence.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/in/gibson/old-red/
Gotta love it. Honestly this is one of my favorite bridges, just because of authenticity and location. It’s a very peaceful bridge.