Cedar Ford Bridge
This bridge is located 1.5 miles northeast of Shelbyville over the Little Blue River,
just east of the intersection of German Road and the Old Rushville Road (or Morris Avenue).
The original was 127 feet in length with a 7 foot overhang at each end. It was built in 1885 by the Kennedy brothers*.
Contributed by Sheila Knobeloch
* See Ron Hamilton's article in the Shelbyville News, March 12, 2003.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
| The Cedar Ford Bridge was used
as a backdrop for a 1968 Squib Shelbyville HS yearbook photo for two
May Festival court members. My future husband John Chesser and
Judy Christian appear on a motorbike at the bridge on German Rd.
When the Cedar Ford Bridge was moved to the Fairgrounds, Coulston
Elementary students and teachers were allowed to leave school and
observe from the Forest Hill Cemetery property. Teaching there at the
time, I brought my class down to watch. It moved at a speed of up to
2.5 mph. This was well-documented by The Shelbyville News which has
nice photographs of the event. If memory serves me correctly, the bridge never burned down. It had fires made in it while in the care of the Shelby County Historical Society which tried everything to protect it. It was then given to a man who was to reassemble it in Rush or Wayne County, I believe. After that, I've lost track of its story. Contact the Shelbyville News Archives. Linda Read Chesser Former Teacher 1972-2001, Former SC Historical Society Secretary and Member, Former Staff Writer for The Shelbyville News. |
More Bridge Pictures Picture Index Main Page