Hyman Bridge

Information and Findings From DHPA Historic Bridge Survey

Statement of Significance

In December 1885, William E. Lybrook, Deer Creek township trustee, petitioned the commissioners about the need to repair or replace the old bridge over Deer Creek on the north-south road on the line between sections 24 and 19. Lybrook reported that the old bridge was "now broken down and impassable," posing "a great inconvenience to the public." The nature of the old bridge remains undetermined, although it was likely designed and constructed of some form of timber. In March 1886, the commissioners recorded a contract at $2 per cubic yard with Trustee Lybrook for stone to be delivered by 15 June for the Hyman Bridge substructure. In June, the commissioners contracted with Henry Weigand & Son for erecting the stone abutments and wing-walls in "cement mortar" for $1.25 per cubic yard. The commissioners contracted for the superstructure at the same time as the stone work. The Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio, brought in the winning proposal for a "wrought iron bridge" at $2,700. The superstructure was to be 150-feet long (146-ft. clear span) with a 16-foot wide roadway. The double-intersection Pratt (Whipple) through-truss span is divided into panels by intermediate verticals of laced channels riveted to pin-plates. Rectangular girder floor-beams are U-bolted to the lower pins and carry a deck of corrugated steel and asphalt roadway and allow 19-feet of vertical clearance. The trusses are braced with latticed portals and bracing. At least one of the iron sections carries a marking of "Phoenix Iron Co., Philadelphia, Pa." The original cut-stone abutments and wing-walls have been reinforced with concrete. The bridge and roadway were closed to traffic around 1980. Not listed in 2007 Bridge Inspection Report or shown on the accompanying map.

Other Information

References Butler, Fairman & Seufert, Inc., Bridge Inspection/Reinspection Report: Cass County (Indianapolis, 1973, 1979). Floyd E. Burroughs & Associates, Bridge Reinspection: Cass County (Indianapolis, 2001). USI Consultants, Inc., Bridge Inventory & Appraisal Report: Cass County (Indianapolis, 2007). bridge nameplate. Indiana Historic Sites & Structures Inventory, Cass County: Interim Report (Indianapolis, 1984). Cass County, "Commissioners Record," 14: 26, 76-77; 15: 13, 82, 158-162.

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: Yes