Britton was already 50 years old when he started working on bridge-building projects. By 1870, he had returned to Rockville to resume building houses. However, he quickly discovered that the life of a barrister wasn’t for him. In his unit's first skirmish, they were captured and became prisoners of war.Īfter the war, Britton turned his attention to reading law books and was admitted to the Indiana and Kansas state bars. Joseph Albert Britton's father taught him carpentry, and he was a well-known Parke County carpenter long before he considered going into the bridge-building business.Ī Civil War veteran, he enlisted with the local infantry in 1862 and was quickly sent off to Kentucky with little training and no uniforms. Britton (1839–1929) might have attended six months of school in his lifetime, but he was naturally studious and widely read. Today, eight of Daniels covered bridges still stand in Parke County ( 5, 6, 10, 21, 24, 26, 28 & 39), and seven others are scattered throughout the state.ĭaniels was 78 years old in 1904 when he built his final bridge, Neet Covered Bridge. He may have built as many as 60 bridges in his lifetime, but only 53 can be substantiated. Daniels was responsible for building twenty covered bridges in Parke County and nine in other Indiana counties. He also set an iron plate between the masonry abutment and the wooden arch to increase the arch’s life by preventing the wood from absorbing moisture from the stone. He used metal brace holders or “shoes” to place braces which required less carpentry work. His arches were perfectly symmetrical curves, with the span’s length determining the arch’s height.ĭaniels liked to experiment with new and innovative ideas. While he preferred to build with the Burr Arch Truss, he occasionally used the Howe Truss. Not surprising since it was the bridge that opened the doors for all future covered bridge contracts in Parke County. It is considered the most masterful covered bridge of his 43-year career in covered bridge construction. His first Parke County covered bridge was Jackson Bridge in 1861. That first year, he built a 600-foot long, 4-span Burr Arch bridge deemed "The Best in the West."Īfter eight years with the railroad, Daniels moved to Parke County. In 1853, he moved to Indiana, where he worked as a construction engineer for the Evansville & Crawfordsville Railroad. Daniels built six long truss bridges in Greene County and Warren County, Ohio, between 18.
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