By BARBARA
BARBIERI
Members of the Wells County Historical Society held their annual meeting Monday at the Wells County Public Library where they re-elected officers for 2024, announced program plans for the year and heard historical facts about the county’s bridges.
Re-elected officers for 2024 were Jim Sturgeon, president; Connie Burbaker, vice president; Lynn Elliott, treasurer; and Marsha Hotopp, secretary. Board members include Sam Aeschliman, Rebecca Behning, Pat Wall, Paul Griner, Larry McAfee, Samantha Acosta, Susan Price, Roger Scherer and Ben Jones.
During the reading of the minutes by Hotopp, it was noted that the major projects over the past year have been replacing the museum’s back steps and the paneling of the annex and the beginning of the Carriage House roofing project.
Sturgeon began his talk about bridges by explaining the first were probably logs or fords. These were replaced by more sturdy timber bridges that often were covered to protect the wood, keep snow off, calm animals into thinking they were entering a barn and give shelter during rain showers.
Bluffton’s Main Street bridge was once a covered bridge, replaced by an iron bridge and then replaced by the current Crosby bridge in 1934. A re-fresh of the bridge in 2004 brought restoration to the lighting system.
McAfee spoke about The Cover Bridge, which was a covered bridge located near Markle that burned down May 28, 1966. At the time the Huntington Reservoir was being built and the bridge had been scheduled to be torn down.
Efforts to save it by Paul Bender and Ralph Higman had just brought the news that the bridge was to be saved and raised eight feet, when it burnt down.
It was built in 1870, was 207 ft. long, had 10 ft. overhangs on either side and cost $7,576.50 to build. The river bed below the bridge was solid limestone.
The road made a curve as it came to the bridge to make sure animals slowed down before crossing. The reason most covered bridges were red was that the paint was cheaper being made of skim milk, wine and rust.
McAfee gifted all in attendance one of his booklets about The Cover bridge titled “The Kissing Bridge.” Also, everyone received a postcard of the bridge.
The dinner was catered by Corner Depot Catering. A list of coming events at the museum was shared by Scherer and follows:
Coming Events
• May 1, 10 a.m.: Local History: Miller Airport by Jim Sturgeon.
• May 8, 10 a.m.: Local History: Grover Sheets American Legion Post 111, Bluffton, by Connie Brubaker.
• May 9, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.: Wells County Senior Expo, 4-H Community Building.
• May 15, 10 a.m.: Local History: “Ghost of the Bluffton Waterworks” by Connie Brubaker.
• May 19, 2 p.m.: Museum History Series with Alan Daugherty telling about his book about Edward Bruce Williamson. (Program in the Annex)
• July 21, 2-5 p.m.: Ice Cream Social.
• Aug. 18, 2 p.m.: Museum History Series about local artist Harry Lindstrand.
• Museum is now open every Sunday and Wednesday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m.
barb@news-banner.com
