Hidden Gems: The Moscow Covered Bridge
April 26, 2024 at 12:28 p.m.
In the small town of Moscow, Rush County, there is a hidden gem known as the Moscow Covered Bridge. This bridge spans 346 feet and is a two-span covered Burr arch-truss that carries a county route over the Flatrock River. The Moscow Covered Bridge was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The bridge was originally constructed in 1886 by Emmett L. Kennedy, the family firm responsible for many of Indiana’s covered bridges. The Moscow Bridge came to be the defining characteristic of the small community, even providing the theme of an annual community festival. It was a devastating loss to the community when, on June 3, 2008, a (F3) tornado destroyed the bridge and dropped its remnants into the valley of the Big Flatrock River.
Local and state officials soon decided to rebuild the bridge. State prison inmates assisted in retrieving salvageable material from the old bridge from the river bed for reuse. The Dan McCollum and Sons firm was hired to manage the reconstruction of the bridge, which was dedicated and reopened in September 2010. The reconstructed bridge consists of around 40% timber from the old bridge. It is built as an E. L. Kennedy-designed and engineered bridge and looks like the one destroyed on June 3, 2008.
The Moscow Covered Bridge is the longest covered bridge constructed in Rush County at 346 feet and the largest Kennedy-built bridge in the state.
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In the small town of Moscow, Rush County, there is a hidden gem known as the Moscow Covered Bridge. This bridge spans 346 feet and is a two-span covered Burr arch-truss that carries a county route over the Flatrock River. The Moscow Covered Bridge was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The bridge was originally constructed in 1886 by Emmett L. Kennedy, the family firm responsible for many of Indiana’s covered bridges. The Moscow Bridge came to be the defining characteristic of the small community, even providing the theme of an annual community festival. It was a devastating loss to the community when, on June 3, 2008, a (F3) tornado destroyed the bridge and dropped its remnants into the valley of the Big Flatrock River.
Local and state officials soon decided to rebuild the bridge. State prison inmates assisted in retrieving salvageable material from the old bridge from the river bed for reuse. The Dan McCollum and Sons firm was hired to manage the reconstruction of the bridge, which was dedicated and reopened in September 2010. The reconstructed bridge consists of around 40% timber from the old bridge. It is built as an E. L. Kennedy-designed and engineered bridge and looks like the one destroyed on June 3, 2008.
The Moscow Covered Bridge is the longest covered bridge constructed in Rush County at 346 feet and the largest Kennedy-built bridge in the state.