September 6, 2005 - According to Inside edge Business E-Newsletter InsideIndianaBusiness.com Report, Parke County Commissioner Jim Meece says a fair amount of money has already been raised for the effort of replacing the destroyed covered bridge.
       The business community in the Parke County area has come out in force to help reconstruct the Bridgeton covered bridge that was burned down in an arson fire earlier this year.
       Parke County Commissioner Jim Meece says the county has collected more than $100,000 of the estimated $300,000 needed for the project.
       Meece says local businesspeople have also committed to giving their time, labor and supplies once a Terre Haute architectural firm completes blueprints for the new bridge. That bridge will look the same as the old structure. However, it will include several fire-prevention components, including a sprinkler system and fire retardant timber treatments.
       Meece says the county's Covered Bridge Festival is expected to bring in as much as another $100,000 when it begins later this month.
       Source: Inside Indiana Business and Network Indiana/WIBC
[Thanks to James Crouse for forwarding this article - Ed.]

May 3, 2005 - Bridgeton, Indiana - The Bridgeton Covered Bridge Association has opened a Bridge Replacement Fund at the Old National Bank in Rockville.
       Anyone interested in assisting the people of Bridgeton with the bridge building/fund-raising task is welcome.
       To donate to the new historically correct bridge, the address is: Old National Bank, P.O. Box 167, Rockville, IN 47872.
       Checks should be made to: Bridgeton Covered Bridge Association Bridge Replacement Fund.
       For the continuing story go to the Parke County Website http://www.coveredbridges.com/home.htm

April 28, 2005 - Bridgeton, Indiana - According to Tribune-Star Reporter Patricia Pastore the fire started at about 12:20 a.m. and the bridge was fully engulfed when the fire department arrived shortly after getting the call.
       Early reports indicate arson was the cause. The Parke County Sheriff's Department announced that it had a suspect in custody.
       The World Guide to Covered Bridges published by the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges describes the Bridgeton Covered Bridge, WGN 14-61-04, as 245-feet span long built in 1868 using the Burr Truss to cross the Big Raccoon Creek in two spans.

Bridgeton CB (14-61-04) in 1966 Photo by Margaret Poetker	Bridgeton Covered Bridge fire photo by Cathy Harkrider, May 28, 2005

Bridgeton Covered Bridge fire photo by Cathy Harkrider, May 28, 2005	Bridgeton Covered Bridge fire photo by Cathy Harkrider, May 28, 2005