Address Rockville, IN 47872, USA Material Wood | Opened 1906 Added to NRHP 22 December 1978 | |
 | ||
Similar Conley's Ford Bridge, Harry Evans Covered, Bowsher Ford Bridge, Neet Covered Bridge, Billie Creek Covered Bridge | ||
The Beeson Covered Bridge is a Burr Arch covered bridge structure that was built by the Frankfort Construction Company in 1906.
History
The Beeson Covered Bridge originally crossed the Roaring Creek, near Marshall, Indiana in Washington Township, but due to another bridge across the county being named the Marshall Covered Bridge it was named after the nearby Beeson family. William H. Beeson, who was born in 1879 owned 53 acres of land near the bridge. It crossed Roaring Creek on C.R. 216 which doesn't exist anymore. From looking at maps of the period when the bridge was built it would have been in the vicinity of 39°51′35.88″N 87°12′8″W.
The bridge was closed in 1969 because the abutments were declared unsafe. In March 1979 a nearby concrete bridge collapsed. This, along with the earlier closing of the Beeson Bridge, caused a severe problem with access to Marshall and nearby Turkey Run High School and Turkey Run State Park. The Roaring Creek Citizens Association (RCCA) was formed to address this problem.
At 11:47 pm on August 9, 1979, just shortly after the RCCA had a meeting at Turkey Run High School, a fire was reported at the Beeson Bridge. Firefighters from Marshall fought from the south end while firefighters from Bloomingdale fought from the north end of the bridge. The fire was found to be a clear case of arson, fuel oil odors were still strong the following morning. The Parke County Sheriff's Department, Indiana State Police Department and the Indiana State Fire Marshal all were part of the investigation, owing that it is a registered national landmark the FBI probably had jurisdiction too but declined to join. Due to the fire happening so close to the RCCA meeting the RCCA threatened legal action with anyone accusing them of being connected with the fire.
Less than a week later another fire was started just after midnight on August 15, 1979. A nearby neighbor, Bill Connerly saw someone at the bridge and heard a car turn around in his driveway. Shortly after that he saw flames at the bridge and contacted the Fire Department. The Marshall Fire Department found the bridge floor covered in flames but was quickly able to extinguish them.
On December 4, 1979 the Buchta Trucking Company began moving the bridge to its current location over Williams Creek in Billie Creek Village, Rockville, Indiana. They first removed the roof and sides before transporting the rest of the bridge.