Bridgeton Covered Bridge

Ben Hill made this model of the Bridgeton Covered Bridge. It is 8 feet long with 2 sections, each 4 foot long. One section is finished with siding and a cedar shake roof. the other section is left open so you can see the bridge construction. Ben is retired from the construction business. He has supervised the rebuilding and repairing of many of the covered bridges in Parke County over the years. He was one of the first to volunteer his help in rebuilding the Bridgeton Covered Bridge. The young man in the middle is Ethan Roe age 6. He is my grandson and I had him stand there so you could get an idea how big this model is. He is holding a picture of the Bridgeton Covered Bridge he drew. Ethan likes to draw pictures of the mill and covered bridge. He made me a model of the bridge last summer using a shoe box. He said “I know you miss the covered bridge grandpa, so I made this one for you”

The next photo is a close up of the detail. Almost makes you think you could walk through it. The posts are notched just like the original. Ben told me he has around 70 hours in the work. It would probably take me 700 hours to do this.

Here is another photo of Ethan, his drawing and the model. OK – I like to put my grandkids in the blog. Ben said he would like to make a model to put in the auction that is coming up April 29. Do you think anyone would bid on it? I will bid on it …. Sure would look nice in the mill ! ! ! !

I will let you know if he builds one for the auction. I will try and get one of Ethans drawings in a future blog.

Tell your friends to check out progress on this blog. Maybe they would like help. And, if you want to donate $$$$$$$$$$$$$ go to rebuildthebridge.com If you want to help or donate something contact me using the web site bridgetonmill.com

Mike Roe
Bridgeton mill