Carrying traffic over Mill Creek, the Bowsher Ford covered bridge celebrates her 100th birthday this year. Built in 1915 by Eugene Britton, the bridge resides on a gravel road about two miles northwest of Tangier, in rural Parke County, Indiana. A single Burr Arch span of 75 feet, this covered bridge differs a bit from most in Parke County, as it has a concrete foundation instead of cut stone.
Named after the Bowsher family who owned the farm near the ford (a shallow spot on the creek used for crossing), The bridge remains in a remote part of the county, surrounded by woods and farms, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Parke County, Indiana hosts the Covered Bridge Festival, a celebration of the 31 remaining covered bridges throughout the county. The festival begins each year on the second Friday of October, and runs for nine days. What began as a small gathering back in 1956, has grown into a county-wide festival attracting over 2 million visitors to the county each year.
For the other 51 weeks of the year, it seems most of the covered bridges in Parke County remain quiet and isolated in their rural surroundings.
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