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 will be rehabilitated and moved at a cost of $1,342,251. The Sanatorium Covered Bridge web page has been created to track the progress of the bridge rehabilitation project. The project started on July 30, 2008 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of October 2008. Check back to wath the progress of the bridge.

Parke County Covered Bridge at the Indiana State Fairgrounds

The Parke County Covered Bridge is being built at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.  The Covered Bridge is being constructed by Square and Level Construction (the main contractor on the Bridgeton Bridge). 

Daily movies are being 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.  The committee will have monthly meetings over the summer and return to twice a month meetings in the fall.

Learn more at the committee website: Parke County COPE.

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 2008 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.

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.