Cutler Covered Bridge (second)
Photos
Old 1950s era photo of Cutler covered bridge.
I think it is looking thru the bridge to the west bank.
http://www.countyhistory.com/coveredbridge/carroll3.htm
BH Photo #175745
Description
Actually, there were 2 covered bridges built on this same site, neither of which is standing, across Wild Cat Creek on or near where County Road West 500 South might have connected with Main Street, Section 33, Township 24 North, and Range 1 West, just west of Cutler, Carroll County.The first was covered bridge on this site may have utilized a Howe Truss, was 150 feet long, or 170 feet including the 10-foot overhang at each end. This structure was built in about 1872 and had a short life as it was washed out in 1876. Its quick replacement seems to have generated some confusion, for example it may have been 155 feet long without an overhang, but I believe it was built by the Indianapolis Bridge Company. This first Cutler Covered Bridge was listed as #14-08-03 in the World Guide (according to G. Gould's 1977 list).
The second covered bridge built on this site was listed by Gould as potentially being a single span structure utilizing the Howe Truss, however, the photo by Bryan Ketcham clearly shows an arch and he further noted that the structure had a 10-foot overhang on each end, which is a characteristic of a Burr Arch. Having a length of 150 feet, or 170 feet including the overhangs, with a portal clearance 17 feet wide by 14 feet high, this Cutler Covered Bridge was built in 1876 by W. W Winslow and listed in the World Guide (according to G. Gould's 1977 list) as #14-08-04 and lost in 1952
Taken from http://www.countyhistory.com/coveredbridge/carroll3.htm
*1876 bridge was possibly a rebuild of the damaged 1872 structure.
Facts
- Overview
- Howe truss covered bridge over Wildcat Creek on County Road 500 South, West of Cutler.
- Location
- Carroll County, Indiana
- Status
- Dismantled after being closed for several years.
- History
- Built 1876; Removed 1952
- Builder
- - Indianapolis Bridge Co.-W.W. Winslow
- Design
- Howe truss with arches. 170 feet long built in 1876 by W. W Winslow and listed in the World Guide (according to G. Gould's 1977 list) as #14-08-04 and lost in 1952
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 150.0 ft.
Total length: 170.0 ft.
Deck width: 17.0 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 14.0 ft.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +40.47789, -86.53111 (decimal degrees)
40°28'40" N, 86°31'52" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/539743/4480905 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Rossville
- Inventory numbers
- WGCB 14-08-04x (World Guide to Covered Bridges number)
BH 46026 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- June 2, 2020: Updated by Tony Dillon: Added stuff
- June 2, 2020: New photos from Melissa Brand-Welch
- June 1, 2020: New photos from Art Suckewer
- May 31, 2020: New photos from Art Suckewer
- March 25, 2019: New photo from Tony Dillon
- September 2, 2010: New photos from Richard Hendrix
- September 1, 2010: Added by Richard Hendrix
Related Bridges
- Cutler Covered Bridge (first) (Predecessor)
- Cutler Covered Bridge (first) (Predecessor)
Sources
- Richard Hendrix
- Tony Dillon - spansaver [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Art Suckewer - Asuckewer [at] knite [dot] com
- Melissa Brand-Welch - melissabrandwelch [at] msn [dot] com
Comments
Tom,
My pleasure. I believe you are correct in how it became redundant. Now the SR 75 span is at risk. Ah progress...
Apparently the person tasked with removing it was killed in the process. Maybe Melissa can find out if its true.
Tony,
I suspect are correct in everything you wrote. I split the entry here because of the two entries in the covered bridge book mentioned in the description. I'm open to removing the second entry if you would like to alter or add to the description to capture these ideas. Just let me know.
Regards,
Art S.
Art, thanks for finding and uploading these photos. Though the bridge was lost long before I was born, I knew it had unfortunately been in terrible condition before its demise. I have the Bryan Ketchman book but man the leaning, siding and roof, ugh! I guess it was removed and not replaced in 1952 because the SR 75 Parker truss had been completed nearby a few years before. Then maybe a new road was built to the west to get to the north end of the SR 75 bridge.
This was a Howe truss with added arches and not a Burr, similar to the extant Adams Mill Bridge. The first bridge was very likely constructed by Alpheus Wheelock and his bridge company, as they built possibly 5 others in the county between 1870-72. I tend to wonder if this "second" bridge wasn't simply a rebuild of the first.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/in/carroll/cutler-covered/
I think it's fine to leave as is for now Art.
It would take a journey into the commissioner's minutes to possibly reveal any additional information. Not much is known about the first Indianapolis Bridge Company other than they built in wood and supposedly iron as well (I have yet to find any examples of the latter). The second incarnation (1883-85) was much more successful and built nearly 200 bridges in that 3 year span. That firm would ultimately morph into the Indiana Bridge Company and would go on to unprecedented success.