Autumn has been slow to reach Indiana, partly due to dry weather. I traveled to the foothills of Monroe and Brown counties to search for early signs of the season, beginning with the Cedar Ford Covered Bridge, which now carries Old Maple Grove Road over Bean Blossom Creek.
The bridge was built in 1885 by the Kennedy Brothers in Shelby County, serving German Road over the Little Blue River. It remained in use until 1975 when the Shelby County Historical Society moved it to the county fairgrounds. Unfortunately, it was stored improperly in the open, resulting in significant deterioration and vandalism. In 1989, the bridge was sold to a private owner.
By 2000, Monroe County officials began seeking a covered bridge to replace their last remaining one, which had been lost to arson. County Commissioner John Irvine led the search, eventually locating the remains of the Cedar Ford Covered Bridge. With funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program, awarded in 2008, along with local contributions, the county embarked on a project to preserve and reconstruct the bridge.
Engineer Jim Barker was commissioned to design the reconstructed bridge, incorporating any salvageable parts from the original structure. The new site was selected on Old Maple Grove Road over Bean Blossom Creek, approximately 200 feet east of the former McMillan Covered Bridge, a Smith truss built in 1871 by the Smith Bridge Company, which had been restored in 1970 but destroyed by arson in 1976.
The Cedar Ford Covered Bridge was formally reopened following a celebratory event on June 9, 2019.
Nearby stands the historic Bean Blossom Covered Bridge, a Howe through truss that spans Bean Blossom Creek.
In June 1880, Mathias Gilbert and 42 other local residents petitioned the county commissioners for a bridge to improve travel between Nashville and Georgetown (now Bean Blossom). The commissioners approved the proposal and awarded a construction contract to Captain Joseph Balsley, who had submitted a design for a wooden covered bridge.
Timber for the project came from the Jim Derringer farm near Nashville, while stone for the abutments was sourced from George Tracy’s property, identified by Balsley and Albert Ludkey. Joseph’s son, J.D. Balsley, painted the bridge red, and construction was completed in October 1880.
The Bean Blossom Covered Bridge remained part of the road connecting Bean Blossom and Nashville until 1936, when Indiana State Route 135 was constructed to bypass it.
In the fall of 1967, the bridge was closed to traffic due to its deteriorating condition. Doris and Mario Panicci, owners of a nearby farm, led efforts to preserve the bridge, resulting in significant repairs and its reopening.
Today, the Bean Blossom Covered Bridge is the oldest single-lane covered bridge still standing in its original location in Indiana. It is one of only three of its types remaining in the state.