No Bridge too Far
Tour guide's love of bridges indeed stands the test of time
Growing up in the covered bridge capital of America gave Barb Pefley an edge on those who didn’t experience the wonders of the ancient wood spans.
She knows how bare feet make a soft slapping sound as they strike the old plank floors. She’s experienced the haunting echoes and soft whispers the ancient wooden bridges make when March winds blow through the structures.
As a youth, Pefley — now the Parke County Covered Bridge tour guide director — and her beau stole a first kiss hidden from view inside a covered bridge. Some people called them ‘‘Kissing Bridges,’’ she said.
Pefley’s voice is more animated when she starts talking about the secrets kept inside old arches of every ancient wood structure.
She knows their stories, and each one is special.
‘‘They were courting bridges then, and they are now,’’ Pefley, 51, said with a shy smile. She recalled how young lovers court under the protection of the bridge, while the glow of a silvery moon flows through its portals.
‘‘What gentleman wouldn’t stop his buggy to steal a kiss?’’ she asked.
Indiana’s covered bridge era started in the early 1830s when the National Road first crossed this state, says the March 1998 ‘‘Focus on Local History,’’ a newsletter published by the Indiana Historical Bureau. Parke County once boasted 521/2 covered bridges, according to Pefley’s calculations, including half of a bridge over the Wabash River, a double-span bridge shared with Vermillion County.
Wooden plank bridges failed to last because exposure to the elements caused the wood to decay. Covering the bridges gave them the needed protection and provided communities with a perfect spot for weddings, political rallies, revivals and even dances.
Pefley’s knowledge about covered bridges and the towns they serve is extraordinary, says Anne Lynk, administrator of Parke County Inc. She said Pefley stepped in to the job of tour guide director when her daughter, Lynn Pefley, had to resign from that post because she was moving to Wisconsin.
‘‘She does a fantastic job of teaching young tour guides county history,’’ Lynk said. ‘‘Barb took the information we’d already compiled and then expanded on it. The conducted tours are educational and fun, too.’’
After her first attempt as a tour guide when her daughter needed help, she was ‘‘hooked,’’ Pefley said. As the bus filled with tourists went from one bridge to the next, she spoke from her heart, telling visitors a bit of history about each bridge and tiny town, she said.
Of the five routes, Pefley’s favorite is the Brown Route. She admits it’s not as popular as the Yellow and Red routes. The Blue and the Black routes are used strictly for light vehicles and are not part of the guided bus tours, she noted before continuing her bridge stories.
‘‘The Mecca Bridge is the only bridge with electricity,’’ Pefley said, explaining that a young couple exchanged wedding vows inside the bridge, and each year during the bridge festival a square dance is scheduled inside.
‘‘This bridge survived several floods,’’ Pefley said. ‘‘In 1941, the levee broke. Boats were used to rescue people. Some climbed to their roof tops. When the boats got to the bridge, the water was over the bridge floor so they went through the bridge rather than under it.’’
The Mecca Bridge crosses the Big Raccoon Creek at the east edge of town and runs north through Coxville and Bridgeton. From Mecca the stream flows on to Montezuma, eventually dumping its waters into the Wabash River.
‘‘It’s one of the few streams in this country that runs north and south, instead of east and west,’’ Pefley noted.
The town of Mecca once was located next to the bridge instead of more than a quarter mile west of it, Pefley explained. She said the town grew around a big mill located adjacent to the bridge. Water from the stream was diverted to furnish power to turn the huge grist stones used to grind grain.
‘‘The town moved to its present location after the railroad came through,’’ she said.
Dirt roads follow soft rolling hills through the countryside, across the covered bridge at Mecca and on to Montezuma, where a spa was constructed at the turn of the century. It was said to have healing waters and attracted tourists from near and far.
‘‘The health sanatorium was built around the artesian wells at Montezuma,’’ Pefley said. ‘‘The spa opened July 1, 1906, and was destroyed by fire March 28, 1907. It only survived one year. Now, tennis courts are located where the spa stood at Reeder Park.’’
Earlier, Montezuma was home to a large Native American village. Pefley says the rivers and streams in Parke County served Native Americans and early settlers with a transportation route from one place to the next, fish for their diet, a water supply and a perfect spot to track wild turkeys, deer and other game that came to drink.
‘‘The Miami Indians even had a trading post at Montezuma,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s believed there was a reservation along the Wabash from above the Wabash River Bridge to a spot south of town.’’
When the Wabash and Erie Canal was built, workmen lived in Montezuma at a boarding house three blocks south of U.S. 41 while they worked on the locks on the west side of town. The Wabash River is the dividing line between Parke and Vermillion counties.
Sawmills and gristmills were constructed next to nearly every covered bridge because water was the only source of power.
North of Montezuma is the longest covered bridge still standing in Parke County — the West Union Bridge. It crosses Sugar Creek just north of the town and is 315 feet long. Built in 1876, it is the third bridge constructed at this site. The Wabash and Erie Canal was east of the bridge.
Pefley says most of the bridges were named for nearby landowners and some for the communities they served.
The Sims Smith Bridge is an example of one named for the property owners at the time the span was built.
Everyone has a favorite bridge, including Pefley, and that is the Phillips Bridge. This span is only 43 feet long, and is the shortest in the county.
‘‘It’s the only one that doesn’t have a Burr arch,’’ Pefley said. ‘‘It’s a King Post construction and the supports are all vertical. The bridge is built similar to the others, but without the horizontal arch.’’
The Burr arches are named for the man who designed them, Theodore Burr. He got a patent on this arch design in 1820. He is known as the father of American bridge builders. Pefley said Burr is a relative of Aaron Burr, third vice president of the United States.
The oldest bridge in the county is the Crooks Bridge, built in 1856 over a branch of Little Raccoon Creek now known as Molasses Creek. Pefley says it was later moved to a spot over Raccoon Creek about five miles south east of Rockville.
Bridge builders didn’t have modern technology, Pefley says when she tells of how steam was used to bend the huge long oak boards for the Burr arches.
‘‘That was no easy task in the 1800s,’’ she said. ‘‘It took six months to a year to build each bridge. The timbers were carried to the site by horse and wagon. Trusses, uprights and arches are made of oak for strength. The rest of the bridge was constructed of poplar because it was — and still is — very abundant in this area, and it’s naturally resistant to termites.’’
The Conley Ford Bridge is special because it is the only wood span made mainly of white pine, Pefley said.
Bridge foundations tell the age of the spans. Pefley says from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s all foundations were made of hand-hewn sandstone. She said later, poured concrete was used.
‘‘There are some exceptions,’’ she said. ‘‘A few of the older bridges were moved to where concrete foundations existed.’’
No matter what their age or where they stand, covered bridges are a gift for all to treasure, Pefley says.
‘‘I get sentimental over these bridges,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s a shame we didn’t realize their worth before so many were destroyed.’’