Mysteries of the twin bridges in Danville, Indiana

I heard about a haunted bridge in Danville, Indiana, and although we were only in town for one evening, we managed to grab a few minutes just as the sun began to set to go find the bridge.

We found the huge, slightly Gothic-looking railroad bridge, but subsequent research leaves me a bit mystified about the bridge’s story.

We found the bridge as the light began to fade that evening, but we couldn’t immediately find a place to park by the bridge so I could take photos. Tim dropped me off alongside of the curving road that ran underneath the bridge so I take some photos as he drove around in a couple of circles (yes, that’s my little yellow Focus you see Tim driving underneath the bridge as he wonders where I’ve gone!)

This bridge dates from 1906, according to a date that I spotted carved into the bridge itself.

This impressive arched bridge wasn’t the first bridge at this site, though.

The Bridge Hunter site, which is one of my go-to sites when I research a bridge’s history, reports that the original bridge here was one of two metal truss bridges built in the 1880s.

Two metal bridges, one atop the other, were the “twin bridges” until this cement bridge replaced the upper-level metal bridge in 1906.

The lower-level metal bridge, a Baltimore truss bridge built in 1886, still exists as a pedestrian bridge. The now-missing, upper-level Pratt truss bridge was built in 1883.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to find the existing metal bridge before it got dark and Tim tired of driving around in circles.

So, these were the “twin bridges”…or were they?

Several sources that say the concrete bridge’s “twin” may be another concrete railroad bridge in nearby Avon.

This was the first of many disagreements among sources about these bridges that I found. The stories, fittingly enough, become even more hazy as you begin to look at reports of the bridges’ hauntings.

One story concerns Dad Jones, a worker who sources seem to agree met his death while working on a concrete railroad bridge. Jones, variously described as an Irish immigrant or an African-American man, was pouring cement into a wooden frame for one of the bridges pillars when he fell (or as one source claimed, drunkenly stumbled) into the cement and sank to his death in the drying concrete.

Depending on the source, no one could, or would, retrieve Jones’ body from the cement pillar.

Sources placed Jones at the bridge in these photos, another concrete bridge in Danville that served an interurban line until 1930 (now only existing in ruins), or the concrete railroad bridge in Avon.

The stories say that locals hear Jones some nights pounding on the bridge, screaming and begging for help. Or maybe it’s a ghostly Jones who others see wandering in the woods around the ruins of the interurban tracks—especially when there is a full moon.

There’s more!

Another story involves a woman walking along the tracks with a baby. She either jumped from the bridge with the baby or threw the baby off the bridge before jumping to her death when startled by an approaching train.

But did the story occur at Danville’s concrete bridge, or at the bridge in Avon?

A Chinese railroad worker or a boy returning from a late-night date also may have jumped or fell from one of the two bridges.

There are plenty of stories about unexplained muddy figures jumping into the road, unexplained crying or screaming, and ghostly figures along the railroad tracks flagging down oncoming trains in conjunction with this legend.

One of the more easily verifiable stories about tragedy at the big concrete bridge in Danville involves the death of a young teen-aged girl who slipped to her death from the span in 2004.

I can usually decide which is the most plausible of conflicting accounts, but the story of the big concrete bridge, a.k.a. the West Fork White Lick Creek Railroad Bridge, certainly has me flummoxed.

The West Fork White Lick Creek Railroad Bridge is an open-spandrel bridge with concrete arches. The span, built in 1906 for the Big Four Railroad on a line just southeast of Danville near present-day Highway 36, is 275-feet-long.

The bridge, with its crumbling concrete, makes me wonder if, like definitive answers to its mysteries, will someday also be lost to history.

Want to learn more about Danville and see some historic photos of the West Fork White Lick Creek Bridge? Check out Danville (Images of America) by Jeffrey Baldwin and the Hendricks County Historical Society.  

© Dominique King 2013 All rights reserved

Comments

[Dawn Toby]

The young girl, who I knew personally did not diie at this bridge. She passed away at the park in Danville slipping off of a bridge abutement which has absolutely no ties to this bridge you are speaking of. Laura needa to be remembered as a sweet and awesome girl who I still think about frequently, not some part of this towns "ghost story"

[Justin]

I've lived in Danville my whole life. Some of your stories I have never heard. Also I know it's to late, but I went to school with the girl who fell in 2004. It was not this bridge she fell from. Also I have heard talk of family and friends offended because this piece was in your article. Especially being as the facts were not correct. If you would at least write an apology and add it to the comments it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for the story and great pictures.

[M Fox]

Its definitely the Danville Bridge. I heard that story all the time (I grew up walking distance from it, back when the soccer fields were just a mile down the road past the bridge, they've moved them since). I don't know why you couldn't find the pedestrian bridge, its just right below it to the south a little bit, maybe they've removed it or the growth grew over it too much, I don't know. All I know is, a friend chose the horror story of the woman and her baby for a school project one year and I heard it a lot as she practiced her presentation. You have it pretty much down.

[troy richards]

The girl that fell in 2004 fell from the concrete wall that use to be a bridge in the park in danville. Not the bridge near the firestation. The metal truss bridge you speak of is literally right next to the bridge you are taking pictures of. The one at the park is likely this bridges twin. It is only a wall and all else has been removed. Both are creepy at night though. The girl who fell in 2004 was a friend of mine.
Danville Native

[Cindy]

My grandma (who still has a sound mind) is 104 years old. She has lived in Danville most of her life. She could tell the true stories and all about the bridges. As for the girl's death in 2004, that was in Ellis Park (Danville). It was on concrete, but it wasn't twin bridges.

[Danville Resident]

The girl who died in 2004 did not die on the bridge by Kroger (the one in your article). She died when she fell from the ruins of a rail road bridge in the town park.

[Dominique King]

Thanks for all of the comments and additional information!
I appreciate people who understood that the real point of this article was that the "truth" of many of these stories was pretty difficult to figure out...even when it came to the more recent death in 2004 that I mentioned here because of the number of conflicting accounts I found online (yes, some placed that death at the bridge, others placed it in the park nearby).
I'm always fascinated by old bridges, so this structure really appealed to me because of its vintage look, and I was curious about its supposed haunted history. It's still pretty much a mystery to me.

[Danville Resident]

As a lifetime resident of Danville, I can tell you that the our bridge is called the Twin Bridge as it is virtually identical to the one located in Avon. Avon's bridge has always been known as the Haunted bridge, with stories of construction workers of various version supposedly falling in wet concrete. Both bridges used to be open for access and you could climb the hill and go through the bridges from one side to the other, the columns have openings and are dark and damp. But there has never been any proof or verification that anyone died at either of these bridges during their construction. Just old tales to keep interest

[KHeadley]

The Four Arches bridge west of Greencastle Indiana appears to be an identical bridge to the bridge in this article. It does have open rooms in the columns that you can enter. An experience described as creepy by most people !

[Jason r Leisch]

You don't even mention the two actual recorded deaths that occurred in the 80s & the 90s

[Jason r Leisch]

Brent Donaldson committed suicide in the late 80s, & Kenny Hutchinson fell or jumped to his death. After walking away from old folks home in the 90s. The original bridge is still there. If you look to the northwest of the bridge there now, & it is old stone not metal

[Ralph Pitman]

The bridge you where at is the "Haunted Bridge" in Avon not Danville. This is where the 2 accidents happened except the one in 2004. There is a book about strange things and hunted places in Indiana that has this story in it with more facts. The original bridge is just to the north and west inside the park. I believe the other metal bridge was relocated to 100 South to be used and was demoed about 30 years ago because it was structurally unsound.

[Mallory]

Interesting! My mind is boggled how I grew up in Avon, Indiana and had no idea that there was a twin bridge in Danville. I once climbed to the top of the Avon bridge in high school, but never went in the columns - those were pretty well sealed off from what I remember. Growing up, I heard that the construction worker and baby deaths took place at the bridge in Avon.

[Dave Hutchens]

It was Kenny Hutchens that died their in the early 90's. My uncle. First report was foul play was involved. But later believed that he slipped fell or had a medical issue. No one will ever know for sure.

[Shonda laverty]

Everyone needs to keep in mind that Avon hasn't always been Avon it was Danville and Indianapolis.

[Charle Rupp]

I visited the bridge in the 60's looking
for a late night thrill. Always on a full
moon or brightly lite night. When conditions
are just right (probably the angle of the Moon)
the bridge will glow with an iridescent bluish
green color. This may have been because the concrete contained some fluorescent minerals
that responded to the moon light. I hope it
still does that!

[Dominique King]

Charlie-It would be fun to find out! Hoping I'll get back down that way one of these days :)