Thursday, June 12, 2008
Recent flooding destroyed the Moscow Covered Bridge in Rush County. Margaret Weir Smith, President of the Indiana Covered Bridge Society, writes in today’s Indianapolis Star about our covered bridges and reminds Traders Point residents of how rare and signficant it is to have a covered bridge. (Traders Point’s covered bridge
once spanned Fishback Creek on West 86th Street. Safely relocated by preservationists in the early 1960s during the construction of Interstate 65, the bridge is now barely visible to passing motorists. It is located within the southwest quadrant of West 86th Street and Interstate 65 on private property, down a steep gravel drive that plunges nearly 100 feet below the grade of West 86th Street. A Howe truss bridge, it was originally constructed in 1876 and is 88 feet in length. It is registered in the world guide of covered bridges as 14-49-01. It is the only surviving covered bridge in Marion County. )
once spanned Fishback Creek on West 86th Street. Safely relocated by preservationists in the early 1960s during the construction of Interstate 65, the bridge is now barely visible to passing motorists. It is located within the southwest quadrant of West 86th Street and Interstate 65 on private property, down a steep gravel drive that plunges nearly 100 feet below the grade of West 86th Street. A Howe truss bridge, it was originally constructed in 1876 and is 88 feet in length. It is registered in the world guide of covered bridges as 14-49-01. It is the only surviving covered bridge in Marion County. )Reprinted below is an excerpt from Ms. Smith’s MY VIEW article: “More than 600 covered bridges were built in Indiana between 1820 and 1922, with the 1880s being the heydey of covered bridge building. Why were these wooden bridges covered? Mainly to protect the flooring and interior from the elements. After the 1880s, more bridges were constructed of iron then later of concrete, materials that were both cheaper and stronger than wood. Time then took its toll on the stately covered bridges of wood. Only 89 remain in Indiana. However, only two states, Pennsylvania and Ohio, have more extant covered bridges. Much information about the bridges is available by going to the website of the Indiana Covered Bridge Society www.countyhistory.com/icbs.
Historic Traders Point Indiana 
I was good friends with the one of Zane Brown’s sons. I spent a lot of time in the early 1990’s at their property. We used to play on and around the covered bridge, I didn’t realize at the time the historic nature of it. I can tell you that they were still crossing the bridge in automobiles during that time period and it appeared & felt stable when doing so. I passed through it many many times in a car and never felt nervous about it in fact I thought it was pretty cool. Some of the pictures I have seen look as it has fallen into a state disrepair in more recent years, but doesn’t appear to be beyond help.
Thanks! The bridge is now owned by traders point creamery with no
n plans to relocate.