Mansfield, Indiana.
Old Mansfield Village, an Indiana hamlet
with fewer than twenty permanent residents, is
located in the southeastern corner of historic Parke County on the Big Raccoon Creek five miles south of
Bellmore on Indiana State Road 59. At one time State
Road 59 wound its way through Mansfield and crossed
the Mansfield Covered Bridge just south of the
roller
mill at the site where the Mansfield County Store
stands. It is just 14 miles north of Interstate 70
and can be reached by taking State Road 59 - Exit
23. For 2021 Covered Bridge Festival the dates are October 8th-17th It is
estimated by festival officials that over two
million tourists visit the Covered Bridge Festival
each October. That is a truly amazing feat during
the ten-day period. Each year visitors come from
throughout the world to see the many historic sites
and eat and shop at the some 4000 vendors in the
county. Mansfield is by far the largest, popular and most visited venue during
the Covered Bridge Festival.
The village of Mansfield grew up around a roller
mill that was built there in 1819 by James Kelsey
and Francis Dickson. A simple 30-foot by 30-foot
log building housed the first mill that served the
needs of a growing number of settlers to the newly
formed state of Indiana. Frontier mills served as
the center of new communities and attracted both
people and businesses. A sash mill was added to the
Mansfield Mill early on and was followed by a
carding mill to process wool. One machine in one
hour could card the same amount of wool that a
person carded in an entire week. A general store,
blacksmith, cooperage, wagon maker and other
business were added to Mansfield. As the population
expanded a church and a school were organized. Early
settlements typically developed around the major and
minor waterways of the heavily woodland territories
that made overland travel difficult before the
development of a road system.
Ownership of the mill changed within and between
generations. For this reason the Mansfield Mill has
been known by several names and has provided a
growing
configuration of services over its lifetime.
Surviving the passing through of several owners it
was acquired by the Hutcheson and Dalton families in
1991. With a stroke of Hoosier generosity it was
donated by them to the Indiana State Museum System
and has been restored for future generations to
enjoy. Visit it during the summer months and during the Covered Bridge Festival
and see three floors of machinery intact with a
working turbine. (Not a water wheel so often
associated with grain mills).
See the world famous Mansfield Covered Bridge. Parke County Indiana is
often touted at the “Covered Bridge Capital” of the
world. While other states have more covered bridges
no other county can boast of more covered bridges.
As a mater of record, thirty-two of Indiana’s
ninety-two covered bridges are found in Parke count.
Many of the bridges still serve local traffic on a
daily basis.
Some have been closed and have a modern
bridge build adjacent to them with a small picnic
area for weary festival travelers to rest and enjoy
the construction techniques used in the building of
the bridges. Most of the bridges rest on Indiana
Sandstone that was quarried locally in the Big
Raccoon Valley. The quarry, Chicago Brownstone
Company, was open for years and exported stone for
the building of the famous Brown Stone buildings in
Chicago and the east coast. During its peak, the
quarry employed seventy-five men and exported a rail
car of stone daily to help meet the needs of a
growing America. Stone is being quarried today from
the same vein that supplied the brown stone that was
used to build an expanding America.
Joseph J. Daniels built the two-span Burr Arch
Construction Bridge at a cost of $12,200 in 1867 and
is the longest covered bridge in Parke County,
spanning 247 feet. Daniels moved to Indiana in 1850
and began his bridge building career. He
moved to
Rockville in 1861 and built bridges in the area
until his death at the age of 90. His grave and those of his family are in
Parke County. The arches rest on Big Raccoon Valley
sandstone from the area. Traffic uses the bridge
daily to commute to work and for leisure. It is
possible to walk under the bridge and view the
construction techniques used. Daniels built 12 of
the covered bridges in Parke County, 9 of which are
still standing. His favorite construction technique
was the Burr Arch method that combined a large
wooden arch that rested on the sandstone piers and
is combined with a King Post Truss to allow for
spanning longer distances. He built a total of 29
covered bridges (25 Burr Arch Truss and 4 Howe
Truss) in Indiana - 18 of them still stand. The
earliest bridge was the Jackson Bridge in 1861 and
the last one in Parke County - the Neet Bridge built
in 1904.
Few original buildings still remain in Mansfield but
the Mansfield Country Store is an example of two
buildings that were built in the 1820s to serve the
community. Barter was often the method of exchange
for local farmers and settlers. Today the
store
buildings are used for local crafters and artists to
display their hand-made items to the Covered Bridge
Festival and other festival visitors. A large wood
deck overlooks the Big Raccoon Creek and affords a
spot for photographers to capture pictures of the
mill dam, bridge and creek. Other locations have
been improved to afford mud free shopping and
eating. A food court is available during the Covered
Bridge Festival on the scenic Big Raccoon Creek next
to the Mansfield Bridge and another one is available
on top of the hill just west of the bridge. You can
find restroom facilities at both locations. Joseph Smith, the founder of the
Mormon Church, crossed the Big Raccoon Creek at Mansfield on May 24, 1834 during
the famous March to Zion in Missouri.
Festival visitors are treated to an array of vendors
that cannot be found any other place in Parke County
during the Covered Bridge Festival. Local crafters
provide folk-art products along with objects with
modern refinements. Food vendors provide something
for nearly any taste and two food courts provide a
place for weary tourists to rest their feet and
enjoy the dining fare. Some vendors provide what
some call flea-market goods but are more accurately
described as manufactured goods. Bargain hunters
have a field day shopping at these booths. Parking
is provided (at a fee) for thousands of visitors on
both sides of the Big Raccoon Creek. Some vendors
are in tents while others set up in building which
line the main street. The historic Mansfield Bridge
is filled with foot traffic during the ten days.
People from throughout the U.S. visit Mansfield and
the other venues in the county.
Come and visit during the Covered Bridge Festival or
the other festivals and events held throughout the
year in Mansfield. Stay at the
Mansfield Guest Inn
and walk along the historic Big Raccoon Creek and
enjoy the Mill Dam and Mansfield Roller Mill. Your
photographs will have a special quality not possible
any other place in Indiana.
revised October, 2021. Copyright; do not copy or reproduce without written permission.
