The Pioneer Engineers Club is going to move the A.M. Kennedy Covered Bridge in Homer, IN to Caldwell Pioneer Acres.  A picture of it in its current state is below.  This bridge was built in the 1881 by Archibald M. Kennedy and Sons over Mud Creek.  It is the only covered bridge in Rush County that does not have the burr arch structure.  It uses a king post design and is 65 feet long.  In 1892 it was swept off its foundation in a flood and has been used as a barn since.  It will now span from the sawmill to the tractor display area at CPA and allow pedestrians a new and more efficient travel route on our grounds.  Picture on the left shows the state of the bridge when work began in May of 2009, and the one on the right shows how it looked in August of 2010. Marc Houston led this project, and he and the club are thankful for all those who contributed in any way.

From this...                                                                                        to this!

5/16/09 - Marc Houston, Tracy Porter, and David Coon clearing the ravine where the bridge will be placed (pictures by Dale Sorber).

5/30/09 - Working on dismantling the bridge: Marc Houston, Tracy Porter, Dale Sorber, Chris Shepard, Paul Rosfeld, and Lydia Porter

6/6/09-6/8/09 - Site preparation for footers and footers poured: Marc Houston, Tracy Porter, Chris Shepard, Donald Coon (pictures by Dale Sorber)

6/21/09 and 6/26/09 - Working on the piers

Covered Bridge Construction - click for slideshow of additional pictures

(Give it a little time to load to be fully functional. If it still doesn't work correctly, your browser may be blocking Activex controls.  You will need to allow these for it to work as intended.)

Many thanks go to the Rush County Community Foundation for awarding a grant to the Pioneer Engineers Club to assist with getting this project started, and to all those who have contributed to helping us see this project through to completion.  We still can use your donations to make sure it is maintained properly.  Your name will be displayed on a plaque as a contributor.  Sponsorship levels are:

A.M. Kennedy and Sons Society Level - $1,000.00

Truss Level - $500.00

Brace Level - $250.00

Post Level - $100.00

Please email us at fbk@pioneerengineers.com or mail your contribution to

Pioneer Engineers Club

PO Box 536

Rushville, IN 46173

Make checks payable to the Pioneer Engineers Club.  Remember, we are a not-for-profit organization so this will be a tax-deductible contribution.