This website is your information guide to Parke County, Indiana. Parke County is
a rural county located in west central Indiana. It is located 70 miles west of Indianapolis,
Indiana. Parke County is a wonderful place to live or visit. Explore this website to
learn more about Parke County.
Parke County is home to the
Parke County Covered Bridge Festival. The Parke County Covered Bridge Festival is a 10 day
festival in October showcasing the 31 Covered Bridges located in the county. The festival
allows visitors to see the covered bridges as well as visit food, arts and craft vendors.
The festival starts on the second Friday in October.
Sanatorium Covered Bridge Rehabilitation
The Sanatorium Covered Bridge was rehabilitated and moved at a cost of $1,342,251. The
Sanatorium Covered Bridge web page
was
created to show the bridge rehabilitation project. The project started on
July 30, 2008 and the bridge was opened to traffic at
the end of December 2008.
ParkeCountyLiving Forum
The ParkeCountyLiving Forum has been modified to require an authorization code
for user registration. The authorization code is parke61. The
ParkeCountyLiving forum is available for discussions about Parke County life and
current events.
Click here to access the forum.
Community Calendar
The 2009 community calendar has been added to the website. The purpose of the
calendar is to highlight events for residents and visitors. Use the
Community Calendar
Link to view the calendar. If you want to add an event, send an
email to webmaster@parkecountyliving.com.
Parke County Interactive Map
The Parke County Interactive Map contains pictures
of all 31 covered bridges in Parke County.  Use the interactive map to locate
the bridges using the map or satellite image view.  Click on the icons to
see a picture of each covered bridge. Other Parke County attractions
and businesses are also available on the interactive map.
Previous Events
Here are other events which have been covered on ParkeCountyLiving.com.
Rebuilding the Bridgeton Covered Bridge
The Bridgeton Covered Bridge was burned to the ground on April 28, 2005 by an arsonist.
Follow the Bridgeton Bridge link to view
pictures of the bridge as the bridge was rebuilt. Pictures show the construction from the
Groundbreaking on January 12, 2006 thru the dedication on October 1, 2006. The pictures were
updated on a weekly basis.
A new organization - "Friends of Parke County Covered Bridges" - has been formed to raise money
for all of the Parke County Covered Bridges. The organization will soon have a website at
"www.friendsofparkecountycoveredbridges.com". The organization is selling a DVD of the
Rebuilding of the Bridgeton Bridge. The title of the DVD is "Bridgeton Bridge - The
Beginning of a New Era" (note, there are multiple DVDs of the rebuilding, but this is
the DVD raising money for the new organization). The DVD was produced by Wood-Mizer and all of
the profits will go to the support of all of the Parke County Covered Bridges. The DVD is $15
and went on sale during the Covered Bridge Festival.
To purchase the DVD through mail order please follow the
Order Form link for a printable order form. You can also send an
email to "webmaster@parkecountyliving.com" for more information.
Jackson Covered Bridge
The Jackson Covered Bridge was rehabilitated in 2007 at a cost of $1.4 Million. The
Jackson Covered Bridge
web page was created to track the progress of the bridge rehabilitation project. The
project started in the fall of 2006. The Jackson Bridge was officially dedicated
before the 2007 Parke County Covered Bridge Festival.
Mansfield Covered Bridge Roof Repair
Part of the Mansfield Covered Bridge roof was damaged on April 13, 2006 during a
thunderstorm. Go to the
Mansfield Bridge link to see the damage
to the bridge and how it was repaired.
Parke County Comprehensive Plan
The Parke County Redevelopment Commission and the Parke County Plan Commission
have developed a Parke County Comprehensive Plan. The plan was approved by the
Parke County County Commissioners. Discuss the details of the plan on the
ParkeCountyLiving Forum.
A preview of the Parke County Comprehensive Plan was presented at a public meeting
in October 2006. The meeting reviewed the vision statements, goals and objectives
of each of the four areas of the plan. The presentation from the meeting is available at
the
Parke County Comprehensive Plan webpage.
Parke County Covered Bridge at the Indiana State Fairgrounds
The Parke County Covered Bridge was built at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The
Covered Bridge was constructed by Square and Level Construction (the main contractor
on the Bridgeton Bridge).
Daily movies were created to show the construction progress. To watch the progress
on the Covered Bridge visit the
Indiana State Fairgrounds Website.
Parke County Non-Partisan Committee on Political Education (COPE)
The Parke County Non-Partisan Committee on Political Education is continuing to hold
meetings to education voters about local issues. Visit the
Parke County COPE website to learn more.
Purpose
The purpose of this website is to create an online
community for residents and visitors of Parke County. The website will track community
events and give residents and visitors a place to express their opinion.