bridge information

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bridge builders

The Bridge Builders: William T. Washer
(Information was extracted from George Gould's Indiana Covered Bridges Thru the Years for the following)

Little is known about William T. Washer, except for the covered bridges he built in southwestern Indiana. Washer, from Cannelton, used a modified Burr Arch truss in some of his bridges. In this truss, often described as an early Burr, the vertical posts were inclined away from the center. On some structures he extended the end post down along the face of the abutment to engage the base of the arch.

Washer was active in the period following the Civil War and built his last bridge at Pikeville in Pike County in 1887. the best and only example of the Burr bridge still standing is the Huffman Mills over the Anderson river on the border of Perry and Spencer Counties. His also credited with two bridges now standing in Gibson County which have the Smith Patented truss. He built at least 20 covered bridges which, Gould believes, included the eight in Evansville over Pigeon creek.

Bridges believed to have been build by W.T. Washer in Indiana that are still standing are Huffman Mills, Old Red and Wheeling.