Hibbs Ford Bridge

Information and Findings From DHPA Historic Bridge Survey

Statement of Significance

In April 1906, the commissioners received A. A. Lane's extensive general specifications for a bridge at Hibbs Ford of Deer Creek and ordered a letting on 15 May. The structure was to be fabricated of medium steel and to be covered with two coats of paint. The characteristics of pins, rivets, bolts, splices, batten plates and lattice bars were all detailed. The board named Lane as superintendent and engineer of construction. At the letting, Henry H. Runyan and Squire J. Hurst won a $674 contract to construct the concrete abutments. The Attica Bridge Company of Attica, Fountain County, brought in the lowest and therefore the winning bid for a 90-foot superstructure with a 16-foot roadway at $1,131. Lane received $98.50 for his planning for the Hibbs and Sutherlin Ford Bridges in June. In July, the county board contracted with the William and James Mahoney brothers at $930 to construct the approaches to the Hibbs Ford Bridge. Runyan and Hurst received their contracted amount in early August, and, in October, Attica Bridge received $331 as partial payment for the superstructure.

Architectural Description

A pair of laced channels provides all the truss verticals, and a pair of die-forged eyebars serves as the diagonal sets in the second and fourth panels. A pair of cylindrical rods with turnbuckles supply the diagonal and counter sets in the center panel; single ones counter the diagonals in the second and fourth panels. The I floor-beams are U-bolted to the lower pins. The bridge carries a timber deck, allowing 15-feet of vertical roadway clearance. The county rehabilitated and repainted the Hibbs Ford Bridge in 2006. Aside from the substantial size of the verticals, these pinned Pratt through trusses are conventionally designed. The original truss members still function, including latticed guardrails and portals.

Other Information

References Butler, Fairman and Seufert, Inc., Bridge Inspection/Reinspection Report: Putnam County (Indianapolis, 1974, 1978). SIECO, Bridge Inventory & Inspection Report: Putnam County (Indianapolis, 1986). Beam, Longest & Neff, Bridge Reinspection Report: Putnam County (Indianapolis, 1992). Indiana Historic Sites & Structures Inventory, Putnam County: Interim Report (Indianapolis, 1982), 33-34. Putnam County, "Commissioners Record," 18: 361, 386-402, 405, 480-482, 508, 549, 570.

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: Yes