Demolished stone bridge in Indiana

Scotland Bridge, Mechanicsburg Indiana

Date added: June 01, 2023 Categories: Indiana Bridges

Looking southeast from north bank of Sugar Creek (1992)

Scotland Bridge provided an important transportation link on a road which formerly ended at Sugar Creek. The Scotland Bridge on "Lost Road" allowed access to Scotland Church and Cemetery, an important center for this rural Scotch-Irish community.

County Road 200 East is also known as Lost Road, because, according to local lore, the road ended abruptly at or near Sugar Creek. Lost Road appeared to "vanish" into the swampy area around the site of the bridge, according to an 1860s account. An 1876 atlas map shows the road continuing north of Sugar Creek, indicating an earlier bridge on the site or a ford. In 1894, the Scotland Christian Church was built, and regular, permanent access north of Sugar Creek would have been necessary. Yet, Lost Road retained its curious name, perhaps due to the large stretch of virgin timber through which the road passed north of the creek. In 1901, citizens of Clinton Township, Boone County petitioned the county commissioners to erect a bridge to carry Lost Road over Sugar Creek. One newspaper account states that "the farmers of the vicinity were very anxious to have a stone bridge." In the same account, citizens offered to contribute to the county's funding for the project.

Boone County Surveyor B.F. Barker submitted two sets of specifications for the project in February 1901: one for a metal truss span, and one for a stone arch bridge. The latter set of specifications called for four full-centered right arches spanning 27 feet each with a rise of 13.5 feet. Greensburg or Laural (Laurel?) limestone was specified by Barker. The swamp-like site required extensive footings and foundations, reaching to four feet below the creek bed, were needed, according to the specifications. Additionally, if the footings did not reach hardpan, then piling was to be used.

Apparently deferring to local wishes, the commissioners awarded the contract to Eck and Ridout of Lebanon. Their bid for a stone span costing $4,000 was about $1,000 more than most expensive metal truss proposal. Theodore Eck and Charles Ridout were stone contractors from Lebanon, Indiana. Eck and Ridout had a good local reputation in Boone County. They specialized in building and repairing small bridges and were active in the early 1900s. This was to be their largest bridge commission by far.

With Barker acting as engineer and construction supervisor, the bridge was completed by August, 1901. In spite of the careful consideration given to proper footings and foundations, the three northernmost arches of the bridge had been undermined by the current of Sugar Creek. In 1908, these three arches had to be replaced. It appears that Barker wished to save face and county money by rebuilding the three northernmost arches using only two arches.

In so doing, segmental rather than true round arches had to be used, since, to span the distance with two true round arches would have required a substantial difference in height of the roadbed. The use of segmental arches also posed design risks, since segmental arches exert more lateral thrust than true round arches.

Bids were received from four persons (including Ridout, who was no longer associated with Eck) but due to an error in the specifications, the county was forced to readvertise. In September of 1908, John Adam of Lebanon submitted the only bid to repair Scotland Bridge. The new specifications included concrete foundations and aprons for the bridge. Work was complete by December 1908.

Little is known of John Adam. His parents emigrated from Germany; John was born in Pennsylvania or Maryland. Adam was a saddle and harness maker and part owner of a livery. He bid on bridge repair jobs in the early 1900s in Boone County, and by 1910, he called himself a bridge contractor.

Scotland Bridge was significant as the only true masonry (as opposed to stone veneered) bridge in Boone County. Several other stone spans are known to have existed in the county during the early 1900s, but they no longer stand. In particular, the 52-foot span of the center arch is noteworthy for its length and craftsmanship. Why stone arch bridges were favored in Boone County, where limestone had to be imported from other counties, remains unknown, however, the predominant Scotch-Irish settlers of the area may have had a tradition of building such structures in stone. With the advent of reinforced concrete construction in the early 1900s, and the dominance of metal truss spans at the turn of the century, solid masonry construction rapidly lost its appeal.

Bridge Description

Scotland Bridge carries Lost Road (County Road 200 East) due north over Sugar Creek in Clinton Township of Boone County. The bridge itself is the only readily apparent man-made structure at the site; the area is heavily wooded and the banks of Sugar Creek have dense undergrowth. Generally, the topography of the area is level.

Built of coursed, rock-faced Indiana limestone, the Scotland Bridge has mortar joints executed in a grapevine technique. The bridge spans a total of 120 feet. The roadbed is 14 feet wide; at either end, the roadbed stands about 14 feet high, at the center it is roughly 17 feet high.

When first erected in 1901, the bridge consisted of four true masonry round arches each spanning 27 feet and rising 13.5 feet. By 1908, Sugar Creek had undermined all but the southernmost arch, and the bridge was rebuilt using this one round arch and two new true masonry segmental arches. As rebuilt, the center arch spans 52 feet and rises about 16 feet. The northern span is also segmental, it spans 32 feet and rises about 13 feet. Materials from the old arches were reused to cut costs. All the arches exhibit true masonry construction (i.e., the arch rings consist of voussoirs that provide the necessary support). Portions of the limestone parapet had to be rebuilt at this time also.

Due to its deteriorated contidion, the bridge was demolished in 2022.