Less than a week later another fire was started just after midnight on August 15, 1979. Due to the fire happening so close to the RCCA meeting the RCCA threatened legal action with anyone accusing them of being connected with the fire. The Parke County Sheriff's Department, Indiana State Police Department and the Indiana State Fire Marshal all were part of the investigation, owing that it is a registered national landmark the FBI probably had jurisdiction too but declined to join. ![]() ![]() The fire was found to be a clear case of arson, fuel oil odors were still strong the following morning. Firefighters from Marshall, fought from the south end while firefighters from Bloomingdale, fought from the north end of the bridge. Īt 11:47 pm on August 9, 1979, just shortly after the RCCA had a meeting at Turkey Run High School, a fire was reported at the Beeson Bridge. The Roaring Creek Citizens Association (RCCA) was formed to address this problem. This, along with the earlier closing of the Beeson Covered Bridge, caused a severe problem with access to Marshall, and nearby Turkey Run High School and Turkey Run State Park. In March 1979, a nearby concrete bridge collapsed. The bridge was closed in 1969, because the abutments were declared unsafe. Beeson, who was born in 1879, owned 53 acres of land near the bridge. Many of the bridges in Parke County are named after a nearby city or the body of water they cross but due to another bridge across the county being named the Marshall Covered Bridge it was named after the nearby Beeson family. The bridge had concrete foundations when it was built and was placed on concrete foundations when it was moved, but after a flood in 1989, the bridge was reset on creosoted wood. The bridge is 55 feet (17 m) long, 16 feet (4.9 m) wide, with a clearance of 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m). The Beeson Covered Bridge is a single span Burr Arch covered bridge structure that was built by the Frankfort Construction Company in 1906. ![]() The bridge was moved to its current location in Billie Creek Village in December 1979. The Beeson Covered Bridge originally crossed Roaring Creek, one mile (1.6 km) northwest of Marshall, Indiana, on County Road 216, in Washington Township, Parke County. Parke County Covered Bridges TR ( ID64000193)
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