Mill Race Park

[David Sechrest]

Mill Race Park was once a slum of the worst kind. Back in the 1950's, 1960's and before, people tried to live here, if you want to call it living. Shacks were prone to flooding, rats ran rampant, and in all, it was a terrible place to live.

In the 1960's, Death Valley was cleaned up (and cleaned out), and transformed into Mill Race Park.

Here's a picture taken in 1965:

Here's another pic taken in 1967:

Today, Mill Race Park is one of Columbus' finest places to visit. The covered bridge, the pond, the tower, and playground make it a popular place for locals.

[David Sechrest]

In the early 1960's (and before), there used to be a covered bridge out Gladstone way. We rode our bikes out to the bridge on hot summer days.

The Clifty Creek Bridge was moved and put in Mill Race Park. I'm not sure of the date it was moved.

This bridge was destroyed by arson in the 1980's (?), and was replaced with another covered bridge. The "new" bridge came to Millrace Park from Liberty, Indiana via Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis.

Here's a pic of the original bridge before it was moved from East Columbus:

Here's a pic of the Clifty Creek Bridge after it was moved to Mill Race:

And finally, a pic of the bridge that replaced the Clifty Creek bridge. This pic was taken before it was moved to Mill Race.

[Ricky_Berkey]

So there was never any water under the bridge untill the Mill Race renovation in the nineties? Was there any water at all where the "Round Lake" cement pond now sits?

Heres some more info about the present covered bridge in the park. It is considered the oldest single-lane covered bridge in Indiana, The only bridge older is the unique dual-lane bridge at Brown County State park:

"The New Brownsville Covered Bridge crosses the edge of a pond in Mill Race Park, Columbus, Bartholomew County. This single span Long Truss structure (the only Long Truss Bridge in Indiana) was originally built in 1840 by Adam Mason near Brownsville in Union County, where it crossed the East Fork of the Whitewater River and was 166 feet long, or 182 feet including the 8-foot overhang at each end.

In 1974 a group from Eagle Creek Reservoir in Marion County purchased this bridge from Union County. Disassembled and trucked to the park at Eagle Creek Reservoir, it sat in storage awaiting plans to assemble it in that place, which never came to pass.

When the Clifty Covered Bridge, which had been moved to Mill Race Park in Columbus, was damaged beyond repair in 1985, individuals in Columbus remembered that the Brownsville Covered Bridge was sitting at Eagle Creek and, after what must have been some wheeling and dealing, the City of Columbus purchased the disassembled bridge and had it shipped to Mill Race Park where, in 1986, it was reassembled. In its current configuration (so significantly different that I attach the word New to its name), its length having been reduced to 85 feet, or 102 feet including the overhang at each end, and though the portal shape has changed, the clearance is still 15 feet 6 inches wide by 15 feet 6 inches high."

[terrys]

I remember the bridge fire. It was in the early to mid eighties. I think maybe closer to the mid, but am not quite sure.

[RER]

Brownsville Covered Bridge Moved To Mill Race Park
Bartholomew County, Columbus Indiana

Comment: The question has been asked: Where is Brownsville Indiana? It is approximately 68 miles from Columbus' Washington Street. It is North East from Columbus past Greensburg several miles more North East. That is a long distance to move the bridge and reconstruct it at Mill Race Park.





NOTICE: There are 10 pictures of this bridge at the non copyrighted web site that follows:

www.galenfrysinger.com/indiana_covered_bridge_14_03_04.htm

Photos By:
Galen R. Frysinger
Sheboygan, Wisconsin

[Rhonda]

The Columbus Indiana Architectural Archive will be part of the new Mill Race Center dedication on April 17th. We will be hosting our second "town talk". The public is invited to come to the dedication and hear architects William Rawn and Doug Johnston for that occasion, and the town talk portion of the event will begin at approximately 4:30. William Rawn & Associates are located in Boston. They also did Fire Station #6 for us here in Columbus. Mill Race Center was a departure from their usual clients...which were many college campus related buildings. The Mill Race project brought them new challenges in working with the senior population! Join us on April 17th! You will LOVE the building, and you will be able to ask questions of the architects during the CIAA sponsored "town talk".

[Ricky_Berkey]

Does anyone have a picture of the train that was in Mill Race Park? This wasn't a full sized train, it was installed as a tourist attraction and was a replica of an old steam engine. It was quite different than the train at the drive-in. There was a picture of it on the original message board but I can't find the copy I had saved.

[David Sechrest]

Ricky, I've seen a picture of that train somewhere. It might have been in one of the pictorial Columbus history books that The Republic published. I can't remember now. I'll try to remember where I saw it...

[Ricky_Berkey]

Apr 3, 2012 6:44:15 GMT -5 David Sechrest said:

Ricky, I've seen a picture of that train somewhere. It might have been in one of the pictorial Columbus history books that The Republic published. I can't remember now. I'll try to remember where I saw it...

I don't think its in any of the Republic picture books. Someone posted it to the old message board but I can't remember whom. A lot of people think its the same train as the Drive-in but they were actually quite different. I'm pretty sure the Mill Race train was the one that went to Ceraland for a while.

[richard]

The following information is from 1963. It was in the Looking Back feature in this week’s editions of The Republic.

E. A. Welmer was Mayor at that time and announced that $60,000.00 has been committed by companies, groups and individuals to the project to convert an area known as Death Valley into a downtown park. The estimated cost of the project was $145,000.00. Today, we know that the area is now known as Mill Race Park.

The city also announced they had purchased the site of the former Mooney Tannery.