Brouilletts Creek Covered Bridge, Clinton Indiana

Date added: January 18, 2024

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The Brouilletts Creek (S Hill) Covered Bridge, constructed by master bridge builder Joseph J. Daniels, was one of only 57 Burr Arch truss covered bridges left in Indiana, and was one of four remaining covered bridges in Vermillion County. The bridge provided a significant transportation link for area farmers across Brouilletts Creek.

The Brouilletts Creek Covered Bridge was built in 1879 and is also known as the S Hill Covered Bridge. The County Commissioners ordered the span to cross the creek "at or near the point where the old bridge was located." The site is at the intersection of the old Clinton and Paris Highway and the Indiana Furnace Road. The roads merge and cross the creek at this point, connecting southern Clinton Township with the largest town in the township, Clinton. The iron furnace for which the name was discontinued by the Civil War, but the bridge at this location continued to be an important access point until bypassed in 1984.

On the 7^th of June in 1879 the Board of Commissioners being "of the opinion that a highway bridge at the point named is much needed by the public and the same ought to be built, it (was) therefore ordered by the board that a substantial Wagon Bridge be built … at the expense of the County." The span was to be 120 feet between abutments with a 16-foot wide roadbed. The bridge was to be either wood or iron or wood and iron combined.

Daniel's bid of $3,770 to build the foundations and superstructure was accepted. His offer included a bid for another bridge at Norton Creek for $2,507. The bridge was accepted by the Commissioners after making a personal examination on December 17^th, 1879, some 4 months and 4 days after letting the contract on August 13th.

Joseph J. Daniels, born in 1826 in Marietta, Ohio, became one of Indiana's leading timber bridge builders in the mid to late nineteenth century. Daniels settled permanently in Parke County in 1861 and constructed about 60 covered bridges during his career. Daniels died in 1916; his last bridge was finished in 1904. Along with the Kennedy family and J.A. Britton, Daniels is considered one of Indiana's most important bridge builders. As with these other builders, Daniels favored the Burr Arch truss. Most of Indiana's covered spans are Burr Arch structures, but Daniels added his own touch to the basic Burr Arch system. According to Gould's Indiana Covered Bridges Thru the Years, Daniels often experimented with the Burr Arch by adding iron tie rods, iron shoe pockets for the diagonals, and iron abutment plates for the ends of the arch timbers. Other builders stayed with the traditional wood timber system. Although the Brouilletts Creek span lacks the diagonal shoe pockets, it does feature the tie rods and abutment plates used by Daniels. Also, the segmental arch shape of the portals was a Daniels trademark.

The bridge was in service until 1984 (105 years) when the adjacent concrete bridge was built. Many people come to the site to picnic and fish. A county park has been proposed for the bridge and site.

The bridge was dismantled and removed in the late 1990s.

Bridge Description

The Brouilletts Creek (S Hill) Covered Bridge is a Burr Arch timber structure built by J.J. Daniels in 1879. The trusses are made of top and bottom chords with vertical posts and diagonals spaced evenly along the length, in twelve panels of 10' 10 1/2" each making a total span of 132 1/2' Including an approach overhang of 12 1/4' at each end, the total length is 157'.

The posts are 7 1/2" X 9 1/4". Diagonals are 7 1/2" X 6 1/2". The floor beams are 4" X 12". Unlike other of Daniels' similar bridges in Vermillion County, the cross bracings are set into the top and bottom of the vertical posts without iron shoes, instead a 2" X 4" is spiked to the post under it.

The upper chords are 9" X 9" and are spliced every three panels. The lower chords are doubled 6" X 12" members spliced every four panels, making them 43' long. The 2" X 12" wheel guards or hubboards are 16' apart, the specified width of the roadbed. The upper chords are linked by wood X braces and iron tie rods which stand 13' above the road deck. Truss frames stand a total of 16 1/2' high. The roof pitch is 1/4 with two-foot eaves. The original roofing was specified to be "the best quality of pine shingles laid 4 1/2 inches to the weather" but the few shingles remaining have been covered with corrugated sheet steel.

The siding was to be 1" X 12" dressed poplar nailed on vertically to lines of stakes having each joint covered with a 3" batten. A space of 14" is left open at the top to admit light. There are several open windows, 36" X 30", spaced on alternating sides every other panel. Portals have segmental-arched openings formed by cutting the siding to an arched shape. This was often a feature of Daniels' bridge portals. Some of the wood siding has been replaced with sheet metal roofing painted barn red to match the wood siding. Much of the wood siding is deteriorated or missing.

The arch rings are bolted to the vertical posts on the 7 1/2" dimension and are thus 7 1/2" apart for most of the length. the arch .pairs are splayed out at the ends and are 30" apart where they bear on the stone abutments to improve stability.

The lower chords, tension members, are double 6" X 12"s four panels long and spliced with what Daniels called a double hook, a notched arrangement bolted together with four bolts and a 3" X 3/4" thick iron strap 42" long, and an "iron jib of 1/2 by 2 inches set in the chord flush for each bolt to bite against".

Per the specifications: "The plates will be 8 X 10 inches, they will receive the tops of the posts in mortices 5 inches deep and in boxes 2 inches deep. The posts will be 8 X 10 notched 1 inch where they connect with the lower chords and having a tendon 4 X 5 inches at the top end. The main braced will be 7 X 8 inches, held in place by a 6-inch spike, the lateral braces above and below will be 6 X 6 inches trussed by a rod of 7/8 Iron. The arches will be 6 X 16 inches. They will be confined to the posts at each intersection by two bolts of 7/8 Iron and each piece must sit in a cast shoe weighing 16 1b where it rests against the abutments. The floor beams are 4 X 12 inches 5 feet apart and bolted to the chords at each end by a 5/8 bolt. The joists are 3 X 6 inches eight abreast and spiked to the beams. The flooring is 2 inch thick laid loose on the joists and held in place by a plank and binder at each end. A wheel guard of 2 X 12 inches is spiked to the posts at each side, the length of the bridge."

The masonry "will be built of the same stone in the vicinity, it must be well cut to bids and points, well bounded with a sufficient number of headers, and all laid in courses, mortared and full grouted with live mortar composed of one part good hydraulic cement and two parts of coarse sharp sand. No course of stone above ground will be received of less thickness than twelve inches, but the stone below ground and the backing may be of thinner stone all well laid and mortared. The backing need not be cut. Each abutment must have 20 yards of rubble protection."

Since construction, the Brouilletts Creek Covered Bridge has been modified to strengthen it. Adjacent to about a third of the floor beams, either railroad ties or 8" I-beams have been added. On the south end, a concrete apron has been added to the abutment to lessen erosion by the creek. Recent years have seen the bridge fall into disrepair. Although deteriorated, the Brouilletts Creek Covered Bridge still has its characteristic Burr Arch truss.