Adams Covered Bridge, Indiana
bridge in United States of America
The Adams Covered Bridge was east of Rockville, Indiana. The single-span Burr Arch covered bridge structure was built by Adams Construction in 1907 and destroyed by flood in 1969.
History
Philip Adams, who was an Ohio veteran of the War of 1812, purchased 80 acres of land in Parke County in 1835. His son, Harvey Adams, continued to farm and by 1893 had acquired 2300 acres in Parke County. By 1959 Roy Adams still owned over 1500 acres and as late as 1990 Adams Farms Inc. owned the same acreage. The bridge was built on land owned by the Adams Family.
The bridge got its "Ray's Bridge" name from the fact that the crossing had earlier been called Ray's Ford from the grist mill that Mr. Ray owned upstream from the ford.
Even though the Adams Construction was awarded the contract to build the bridge apparently they subcontracted the Frankfort Construction Company to actually build it.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Adams Covered Bridge, Indiana” as bridge in United States of America. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as bridge in United States of America. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 16, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q19871565. Authority coordinates are 39.781, -87.145. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1907, 1969, 1812 and 1835.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Adams Covered Bridge, Indiana”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Adams Covered Bridge, Indiana primary sources, Adams Covered Bridge, Indiana archive and Adams research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Adams Covered Bridge, Indiana”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Adams Covered Bridge, Indiana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.