Neet Covered Bridge

The Neet Covered Bridge is a Burr Arch single span structure that was built by Joseph J. Daniels in 1904 over Little Raccoon Creek southwest of Rockville, Indiana.[3][4]

Neet Covered Bridge
Western Portal
Coordinates	39°42′6.2″N 87°11′52.75″W
Crosses	Little Raccoon Creek
Locale	Parke, Indiana, United States
Official name	Neet Covered Bridge
Other name(s)	Dietrich Bridge
Named for	Joseph W. Neet or Robert E. Detrich
Maintained by	Parke County
WGCB Number	14-61-18 [1]
Characteristics
Design	National Register of Historic Places
Total length	144 ft (44 m)126ft +9ft overhangs on each end
Width	16 ft (4.9 m)
Height	14 ft (4.3 m)
History
Constructed by	J. J. Daniels
Built	1904
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	Parke County Covered Bridges TR
NRHP reference No.	78000405 [2]
Added to NRHP	Dec 22, 1978
Neet Covered Bridge Location of the Neet Bridge in Indiana

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[2]

History

This was the last bridge contracted by Joseph J. Daniels, he was 78 at the time, though he may have been the builder of the Roseville-Coxville Covered Bridge built 6 years later that had been contracted by J.P. Van Fossen. He would have been 84 years old by this time.

The 1908 Atlas of Parke County doesn't show any property near the bridge being owned by anyone in the Neet family while Enoch Shrigley referred to it as the Joe Neet Bridge. Joseph W. Neet had been born in 1862 and owned 176 acres in section 33, the bridge is on the west side of section 33. George M. Neet, born in 1869, rented 20 acres north of the bridge.[3][5] Robert E. Detrich later owned property at the bridge through 1959 and by 1990 owned 40 acres further from the bridge which is listed as Detrich Tree Farm.[1]

The Central Indiana Railroad crossed Little Raccoon Creek just north of the bridge.

On March 25, 1989 Rockville Boy Scout Troop 469 repainted the bridge with 4 gallons of paint. A note on the bridge credits Ted Gahimer, Bruce Girdler, Matt Garrett, and Shawn Taylor as the painters. As of 2010 the bridge and area around it were being maintained by neighbors Bob Lowdermilk and John Tilton.

See also

• List of Registered Historic Places in Indiana
• Parke County Covered Bridges
• Parke County Covered Bridge Festival

References

1. http://www.indianacrossings.org/bridgeLinks/14-61-18.html
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
3. "Neet Covered Bridge". Parke County Incorporated / Parke County Convention and Visitors Commission. Retrieved 2012-10-18.
4. "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-06-01. Note: This includes Charles Felkner (December 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Parke County Covered Bridge Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-06-01., Site map, and Accompanying photographs.
5. http://www.indianagenweb.com/inparke/Maps/1905ParkeCountyAtlasAdamsTownship.jpg