The Shepard Bridge on the Michigan Road

As you follow the old Michigan Road just as it passes into Ripley County from the south, you’ll encounter this one-lane stone-arch bridge. Built in 1913, it’s known by many names: Shepard Bridge, or Nobles Ford Bridge, or County Bridge #38.

Shepard Bridge

The view was unobstructed on a visit I made here ten years ago:

Stone bridge, Michigan Road
ShepardBridgeMap
Image and map data © 2018 Google

This bridge is in a fascinating place, marked on the map with the orange star.

To its west is the vast Jefferson Proving Ground. The U.S. Army took the land, displacing many farms and towns, in 1941 to build this munitions-testing ground. The Army blew up ammunition and bombs here! The majority of it no longer serves that purpose and is today a wildlife refuge.

To its east is US 421. The Michigan Road’s oldest alignment follows the road labeled Old Michigan Road. But with the rise of the automobile in the early 20th century, the Michigan Road became an early auto trail. So that it could pass through bustling Versailles and Osgood, the auto trail was routed along what is now US 421 from here about 22 miles north to the little town of Napoleon. The two alignments come back together there.

This rerouting happened after the Shepard Bridge was built. It had the effect of saving it from eventual demolition. If this alignment had become US 421, this bridge would have been replaced with a bridge designed to handle modern highway traffic.

Shepard Bridge

It was unusual for a stone-arch bridge to be built in 1913. The stone-arch era is heavily consigned to the 19th century. By the early 20th century, bridges of iron, steel, and reinforced concrete had become much more common.

Shepard Bridge

Ripley County is unusually rich in stone-arch bridges, with at least 12 still open to vehicular traffic. A few of them are inside Jefferson Proving Ground and thus carry limited traffic. The ones for which I’m able to find data were built after 1880. The Shepard Bridge is the newest of them.

Shepard Bridge

The Michigan Road borders Jefferson Proving Ground here. You can see a bit of the chain-link fence that surrounds JPG just over the rise in the bridge deck.

Shepard Bridge

This bridge has had some work done on it that appears intended to stabilize it. On an autumn day in 2008, after a long drought, I drove by and noticed the creek was dry. So I walked under the bridge to have a look. The stones appear to be in no more than fair condition. I imagine the brown stuff is some sort of cement intended to keep stones in place.

Stone bridge

Concrete was poured where the arches meet the creek bed — on Oct. 1, 1997, as you can see. I’m sure this stabilizes the bridge a little.

Stone bridge

The concrete is poured such that the upstream end forms a point, so that debris is more likely to flow around and not get hung up. This 2008 photo shows it:

Stone bridge, Michigan Road

With the destruction of the Middletown Bridge in Shelby County, this is the last stone-arch bridge on the Michigan Road. I know of a large stone culvert on this alignment just south of Napoleon, as well.

I’ve documented Indiana’s historic Michigan Road extensively. To read all about it, click here.

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Comments

9 responses to “The Shepard Bridge on the Michigan Road”

  1. J P Avatar

    Interesting stuff. It makes me wonder when the last bridge of this type was built. Could this have been it, at least in the state?

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      This one might be the newest surviving stone-arch bridge in the state. I’ll bet I could prove it with some sleuthing through bridgehunter.com.

  2. Nancy Stewart Avatar
    Nancy Stewart

    Thanks Jim …. I enjoy seeing the photos of the old historic bridges, roads and buildings.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Always happy to have you in the audience!

  3. Dan Cluley Avatar
    Dan Cluley

    While not as scenic as a stone bridge or Madison, I did take this shot last week with you in mind. According to your directions, this intersection is the north end of the Michigan road. Seems an odd spot, but given the welcome sign in the background I wonder if it used to be the city limits.

    https://flic.kr/p/2a33vvU

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Yep, that’s the end of the Michigan Road all right! Looks like our Michigan Road Historic Byway signs here have gone missing.

  4. Владимир Плотников Avatar
    Владимир Плотников

    ср, 15 авг. 2018 г., 12:04 Down the Road :

    > Jim Grey posted: “As you follow the old Michigan Road just as it passes > into Ripley County from the south, you’ll encounter this one-lane > stone-arch bridge. Built in 1913, it’s known by many names: Shepard Bridge, > or Nobles Ford Bridge, or County Bridge #38. The view wa” >

  5. Andy Umbo Avatar
    Andy Umbo

    Jim, I love these entries! This is the stuff you do best! Such a delight to read…

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      I do like writing these. I’m always very happy when they resonate with people! Honestly, these posts get the fewest pageviews of pretty much anything I write.

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