The Return of the Moscow Covered Bridge

In June, 2008 I blogged about the destruction that Indiana had suffered due to natural disasters. During the course of a week there were multiple tornadoes and widespread, damaging floods. One of the most poignant losses for our family was the total destruction of the Moscow Covered Bridge in neighboring Rush County. Andy's parents lived there as newlyweds and lots of Andy's dad's side of the family had lived there at one time or another. Great Aunt Evelyn still drives to Moscow for church most Sundays.

The old bridge was built by E.L. Kennedy, in 1886. Kennedy was a rather prolific covered bridge builder in Indiana and the Moscow bridge was quite long. Up until the tornado took the bridge out in 2008, it was used daily. The loss of the bridge has caused relatively major traffic detours, especially for the large number of Amish people in the area.

We were pleased to be able to see the new bridge, which other than the name on the front, looks and feels about as much as possible like the old bridge. There is a new dedication plaque just inside. It lists all of the contractors who worked on the bridge and a plaque next to it lists all major donors to the project. The biggest factor in the 2+ years it took to replace this bridge was money, or lack thereof. Corporate, private and citizen donors chipped in, along with a covered bridge historical preservation group and the state of Indiana.

The inside of the bridge is almost magical! The light comes through in such captivating ways. When Andy was a little boy he and his brother and cousins used to climb through the trusses of the bridge. Why not? What better adventure would there be for some boys who were visiting their grandparents in this tiny town? Many of the beams from the old bridge were able to be salvaged and reused in this new bridge, inspiring memories and helping to maintain the history of the bridge.

Governor Mitch Daniels (tan shirt, below) was in attendance for the dedication. The lady in this picture was graciously offering him some of her home canned goods. She was apparently part of the local committee that worked to support the bridge reconstruction and boy was she thrilled to be giving Governor Daniels some veggies!

In this picture (below) you can see the length of the bridge. This picture was taken from the side of the bridge across the river from the town of Moscow. The other side of the bridge is just a couple of doors down from what used to be the general store and down the street from where the school house used to stand.

A friendly passerby offered to take our family picture! It was an absolutely beautiful day and Andy played tour guide, driving us all around the area after we'd left Moscow. While we were out we stopped by the Amish saddle shop to drop off the kids' saddle, which needed repair. Then, we dropped in on our Amish horse shoer, whose five precious children were watching us in amazement. It was such a fun morning, driving around with nowhere to be, enjoying the beautiful day and fun with family. We even crossed a second E.L. Kennedy bridge on our way toward Shelbyville, and all of a sudden I realized we were almost back to town. Sometimes Andy has fun driving new routes and it can trick me, because my guy knows back roads like you would not believe!

If covered bridges don't inspire a feeling of Americana, I don't know what does!