History

Mud Pike Baptist Church and Cemetery

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We were off on another daytrip in south east Indiana. We did have a couple of specific destinations, but as usual we did enjoy just coming upon interesting sights. One of these surprises was the Mud Pike Baptist Church and Cemetery which we came upon on, you guessed it, East Mud Pike Road. The church is roughly equidistant from Napoleon and Osgood, Indiana, both on US Highway 421, aka Michigan Road.

Pretty white church edifice

Remounted bell and one side of the cemetery

Notice the “Weeping Willow” tree in Mary’s tombstone

The grave of thirty two year old Sarah, passed in 1878

Grave of John Blackmore, Charter Member and church land donor

The bell remounted

Originally Delaware Baptist started in 1842 with 12 members, and Charter Member John Blackmore donated the ground for the church in 1844. In 1911 the bell was mounted in the belfry of the structure. A  fire devastated the church in 1996, resulting in the bell crashing to the floor. It now is mounted in a place of honor next to the flagpole and bench. The church was renamed Mud Pike Baptist Church in 1938, and it celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2017.

What do you call this 1909 structure?

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We came across this during our daytrip the other day. En route to another historic feature in southeast Indiana we were driving through New Point in Decatur County. Here came a short tunnel up ahead on S Co. Road 850 East.

No clearance sign, maybe 12 feet max?

Detail of side abutments

The 1909 date stamp has seen better days

 

 

 

 

 

The active Central Railroad Company of Indiana tracks run over the road using this structure. What is this type of structure called? Is it an underpass? Is it an overpass? Bridge? Tunnel? Viaduct? I’ve heard these called all of these, and have yet to find a definitive answer to the question. Any highway, railroad buffs or others in the know are encouraged to chime in…

Finks Road stone arch bridge

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Ripley County, Indiana is allegedly home to 11 stone arch bridges. The Fink Road bridge spans a branch of Laughery Creek, one of the main waterways in the county. This is a smaller single arch bridge that is not really obvious from the road.

Hard to see the stone arch through the vegetation

All you see are guardrails

Courtesy bridgehunter.com by Anthony Dillon

Stonework in B&W

This bridge was probably built around 1900 and refurbished in 1993. This turn of the century time frame saw many stone arch bridges constructed. The Fink Road Bridge, while only 60 feet long, has an unusual full 19 feet wide two lane spacing. It shows the high degree of craftsmanship typical of the times.

 

A lovely four-span stone arch bridge

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Ripley County Indiana is a scenic land of rolling hills, wooded tracts interspersed with farming enterprises. Amongst the unique sites include a wonderful stone arch bridge just outside the tiny village of Friendship. This bridge was constructed in 1909 on the Olean Road where the road crosses Raccoon Creek.

From a distance

The approach to the bridge

Nearly perfect stonework


Side view of the stone work arches


The stonework on the four arches is really a stone mason’s dream. This bridge has spans over 20 feet. The deck is nearly 15 feet wide over the 103 foot length. Stone arch bridges were a very common design for many rural stream and river and there are eleven still standing in Ripley County alone, according to records.

Raccoon Creek is typical of southern Indiana hill country drainage streams. Usually running, it can go dry in droughts. The bubbling sound of the passing of the water adds to the serenity of this environment.

 

Historic Miller Cemetery

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Just a few miles west of Shelbyville in central Indiana, on a road aptly named Cemetery Road, you’ll come across a well-kept and decent sized rural cemetery. Miller Cemetery has roots back in the early 1800’s.

Proud flag and pure white lettering

Corn and soybean fields beyond the graves

Equipment shed, and yes, an outhouse

Civil War Veteran of CO.K, 42nd IND. INF

 

 

 

Sad record of the death of a very young wife

A member of the Odd Fellows, symbolized in the 3 chain links

According to the Cemetery Facebook page farm neighbors formed a loosely knit organization in 1926 for the purpose of upkeep and administration of the grounds. The volunteers still perform their loving tasks. This is one of the best manicured country graveyards you will find.

Bond Cemetery Road Bridge, abandoned

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Bond Cemetery Road Bridge, aka Brown County Bridge #36, is a very interesting bridge that has been abandoned and is, frankly, degrading at a fairly rapid pace. The HistoricBridges.org website states: “The bridge is severely deteriorated and the bridge is at an increasing risk for collapse. One of the plates that is part of the floorbeam and hanger system is cracked so badly it is split nearly in half. (see photo below) Many diagonal and vertical members have extremely severe section loss at the heads. Restoration of this bridge would likely need to include disassembly and restoration of these parts in a shop setting.”

Abandonment is, ah, obvious

This historic bridge was constructed in 1908 by the Pan-American Bridge Company of New Castle, Indiana, who were very prolific iron bridge constructors in Indiana. The technical design name of this bridge is a single-span, pin-connected Pratt through truss with an “I” beam approach to the south. The bridge rests on metal abutments, wingwalls and round caisson piers.

The concrete filled metal caisson foundation

The cracked plate referenced above

Looking through the decorative lattice guardrail at North Fork of Salt Creek

Bridge behind camera looking down old Bond Cemetery Road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This bridge spans the North Fork of Salt Creek and is a couple of hundred yards south of Green Valley Road on what is left of Bond Cemetery Road. The old road bed continues towards Highway 46 past the cemetery of that name. There was discussion in the early 2000’s about building some type of trail along the road, including refurbishing the bridge as part of the trail. Too bad nothing ever came of that plan.

Note the “interlaced” I beam verticals, and the moss growing on the deck boards.

This is one of those stories that apparently will not have a happy ending. The private owner of the bridge does not seem to care if the bridge collapses. According to the experts at HistoricBridges.org it is not a matter of if, but when this classic 1908 bridge goes down. What a shame.

 

The reconstructed 1885 Cedar Ford Covered Bridge

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This beautiful Kennedy Brothers bridge started its life in 1885 by spanning Little Blue River northeast of Shelbyville, Indiana. In 1975, instead of demolishing the bridge to make way for a modern bridge, Cedar Ford was relocated to the Shelby County Fairgrounds.

Beautiful white reconstructed bridge

 

 

 

The bridge remained at the fairgrounds for several years and was a great addition to the historic fairgrounds. However, someone raised a liability issue, and unfortunately the fair had the bridge dismantled, sold it to a private individual and then it was stored unprotected for years. So much for “historic” Shelby County Fairgrounds.

One of the abutments

Kennedy Bros trademark scroll work

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Monroe County, Indiana engineer named Jim Barker got ahold of the useable parts and incorporated them into the design of the fully authentic covered bridge. According to Bridge Hunter website the bridge was reconstructed at “the site of the Millikan/Milligan/McMillan/Williams Covered Bridge that was destroyed by an arson fire in 1976. Remnants of the original abutments of that bridge can be seen just West of the current bridge. Although that bridge wasn’t a Kennedy built span, there were at least two of them that once existed in Monroe County.”

Typical notched connection joint

The Burr-Arch truss

 

 

 

 

 

This reconstruction took place in 2019 with as many of the original members as were structurally sound. New materials were faithfully reproduced when required to finish the structure. This bridge is a Kennedy Brothers Burr-arch truss design typical of Kennedy bridges in Indiana. It spans Bean Blossom Creek on Old Maple Grove Road north of Bloomington.

Looks, sounds and smells like it did in 1885

The smell of freshly sawn lumber is perhaps the most remarkable feature of this marvelous rebuild. That’s right, when we walked across the deck of the 127 foot long span, you could clearly smell the clean scent of newly sawn lumber. You can’t help but realize that that fragrance is what the first users of the bridges encountered as they crossed the first time.

 

Indiana’s “Grave in the middle of the road”

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A history and legend filled roadside oddity can be found on CR 400S outside of Amity, Indiana  which is south of Indianapolis in Johnson County. The story begins in 1808 when 14 year old Nancy Kerlin married William Barnett. The couple had 11 kids.

The only marker on the grave

Fast forward to 1831, the year of Nancy’s passing. She had a favorite spot on a rise overlooking nearby Sugar Creek. This became her final resting place. Stories say that others began to be buried there as well, creating a small country cemetery. A road was discussed through the cemetery, but Nancy’s son refused to move his mother, so the road went around her.

The road still splits around the graves

In the early 1900’s CR 400 was plotted out, again right through Nancy’s grave site. This is when her grandson Daniel Doty showed up with his shotgun refusing to allow any such activity. Don’t mess with Grandma’s grave! Thus the county said fine, they would run the road on either side of the grave.

The old raised grave mound, photo by Rick Hinton

Over the years vehicle traffic, including large farm machinery, took its toll on both the protection barriers and the grave mound itself. Then in 2016 it was decided that the grave should be lowered and covered with a low profile concrete structure. Archaeology students from the University of Indianapolis excavated the grave and were surprised by the discovery of not just Nancy’s body but remains of six others.

New (2016) historical plaque

The bodies of two women, a man and four children were reburied in individual coffins. The low profile concrete structure now protects Nancy and other early Indiana pioneers. Today flowers and hundreds of coins adorn the surface of the grave in the middle of the road.

An 1871 Methodist Church

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According to Shelby County Indiana history, following is part of the backstory  of Jollity United Methodist Church: “Back in the gray and misty dawn of the history of Jackson Township, Shelby County, there came two men who settled in what is now known as the Jollity Neighborhood.  These men, William Shipp  and  Burgess Waggoner, brought their families from Kentucky and settled near the Brockman Cemetery.”

The first church was a wooden frame building about a mile from the existing church. The cost of this was around $300.00. It was replaced in 1871 with a new brick church edifice on a new corner of land. The church is on the Shelby/Johnson County line, closer to Franklin than to Shelbyville.

Church Marquee with Holy statue in background

Memorial Flowering Dogwood, planted in April, 1989

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately a tornado hit the church in 1877. It was repaired, and over the years renovations and building additions were constructed, one with several small Sunday School rooms, a fellowship hall and a kitchen.

Mr. Reasner must have loved horses

Research has determined that the name of the church, Jollity, is most likely named after Frederick Jollity, the man who originally surveyed Johnson County between 1820 and 1830. The church started as a small group of neighbors who came to Indiana in the 1820’s. The National Methodist website lists the current congregation as 18 members, probably close to the original size of the group.

 

 

The Bean Blossom covered bridge

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The Bean Blossom covered bridge is located near the village of Bean Blossom on Covered Bridge Road and it spans, you guessed it, Bean Blossom Creek. This is one of the favorite photo op sites in Brown County, Indiana.

Approaching the bridge

This bridge was constructed in 1880 by a Capt. Joseph Balsey for the sum of $1200. The covered bridge design is that of a Howe-single through truss. The supported approach deck is unique due to the topography as the road approaches the stream bank.

Too bad about the graffiti

Supports for the approach

Overlooking Bean Blossom Creek

Detail of the deck lumber

Interesting story here?

We had to chuckle a bit when we noticed the graffiti just inside of the bridge. Seems that Molly likes to bring her boyfriends here. Have to wonder, was Molly dating Roman and Steve at the same time?