Champs's Ford Bridge

Information and Findings From DHPA Historic Bridge Survey

Statement of Significance

This bridge follows the conventions used with most of the stone arches built in the state's south-central counties and represents one of the nearly two dozen structures of its kind in Decatur County. One of a handful of four-span, cut-stone, arch structures in the state, it is the longest. The differentiation in span width and rise and the size of the cutwaters also help to make this an especially noteworthy bridge.

Architectural Description

Local craftsmen built most of Indiana's stone arches from regional materials just before or in the first fifteen years of the 20th Century. Following a few simple rules of thumb that had evolved since Roman days, stonemasons erected full-centered or semicircular arches in which the line of pressure passes through the center of each stone in the arch ring until carried vertically into the substructure. Most of the state's stone arches span streams in south-central counties. With more than two dozen extant, Decatur County built the largest number. By World War I, the growing popularity of concrete, which engineers could readily adjust to the special needs of each specific bridge site, quietly ended most stone arch construction in the region.

This limestone, four-span structure is 129' long and carries a 16'9" asphalt roadway between stone walls. The arch rings are semicircular, and their stones are roughly-cut and mortared. Springing from vertical stone footings about 3' above the stream bottom, the arches rise to different heights. From West to East, the spans are 27', 28', 27', and 26'. The wider the span, the higher the rise. The bridge has stone abutments, wingwalls, and large triangular cutwaters to the North.

Other Information

Joseph Mathews won contracts for two stone arch bridges from the Decatur commissioners in February 1904. For the one located two miles west of Burney, Mathews bid $3,176. Merritt Dorsey was named superintendent of construction. In September, the mason drew $1,000 on an estimate of construction, and in October he received the "balance due" of $2,476, which appears to be, in sum, approximately $300 more than the contract called for.

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: Yes