Orgiinally Located on Moore's Bridge Road. See brief history below pictures.
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +38.41397, -87.50771 (decimal degrees)
38°24'50" N, 87°30'28" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Photo courtesy of Kenneth "Ken" Buttry.
John
Cam Moore (b.1839) was a respected farmer, but his real claim to fame
is as the builder of the Moore Covered Bridge. The bridge crossed the
Patoka River in section 22, Township 1 South, and Range 10 West on
County Road 375 North (which is now known as Moore Bridge Road) in
Gibson County. The single span, Smith-Truss structure had a length of
150 feet, 160 if you included the five-foot overhang at each end. The
bridge had a portal clearance of 14 feet wide by 12 feet 6 inches high.
The bridge was built in Chicago in 1876 using oak for the floor
supports. The structure was broken down and shipped by train to Gibson
County where it was assembled in 1877. John Cam Moore, Jr. supervised
the building of the bridge that would bear his name. The bridge had oak
floor supports, and redwood siding and roof. In later years the bridge
was painted white.
The Moore Covered Bridge was listed in the 1972 World Guide as #14-26-02 and was closed to traffic on September 22, 1978. The structure had survived decades of weather and floods, however it was not strong enough to withstand a large truck. The truck damaged the overhead beams, compounding stress already caused by overweight traffic. The estimated cost to repair the bridge was placed at $23,000. The county decided to quickly remove the old bridge before winter weather set in. There was some consideration given to moving the bridge to the fairgrounds, however, the estimated $50,000 cost to make the move was deemed too expensive.
After the bridge was taken down a local Moore descendant used some of the bridge timbers to build a porch on the front of an old restored cabin. Others collected pieces of the bridge as souvenirs.
The Moore Covered Bridge was listed in the 1972 World Guide as #14-26-02 and was closed to traffic on September 22, 1978. The structure had survived decades of weather and floods, however it was not strong enough to withstand a large truck. The truck damaged the overhead beams, compounding stress already caused by overweight traffic. The estimated cost to repair the bridge was placed at $23,000. The county decided to quickly remove the old bridge before winter weather set in. There was some consideration given to moving the bridge to the fairgrounds, however, the estimated $50,000 cost to make the move was deemed too expensive.
After the bridge was taken down a local Moore descendant used some of the bridge timbers to build a porch on the front of an old restored cabin. Others collected pieces of the bridge as souvenirs.
In
its glory days the bridge was a popular gathering place for the men in
the area to meet, play cards and shoot the breeze. Children would
gather here to swim in the river, and in later years, on Halloween, the
kids would grab whatever they could to block the bridge as a prank.
Source: Lucie's Genealogy Family Tree (http://www.luciefield.net/extree/getperson.php?personID=I2665&tree=Field)
Source: Statistics from Bridgehunter.com http://bridgehunter.com/in/gibson/moore-covered/
Source: Lucie's Genealogy Family Tree (http://www.luciefield.net/extree/getperson.php?personID=I2665&tree=Field)
Source: Statistics from Bridgehunter.com http://bridgehunter.com/in/gibson/moore-covered/
