The Abandoned North Dearborn Ghost Road & Phantom Bridge, Dover, Indiana

This is a rather unique video we have here in that it includes a phantom bridge, a ghost road and the remains of a demolished steel truss bridge, all within 100 yards of each other.

This portion of North Dearborn Road was bypassed in 1989 when the road was realigned and a new concrete bridge was built over the East Fork of Tanners Creek. The original section of the road which was barely one lane wide, clung to the edge of the hillside between the two bridges, one crossing over Ennis Creek and the other over the East Fork of Tanners Creek.

The still standing phantom bridge is a Bedstead Pratt pony truss, about 30 feet long, one lane and spans Ennis Creek. It’s now blocked off and apparently sits on private property. I have no idea when this bridge was built but I’m guessing in the 1920s. The bridge sits on stone abutments with a center concrete pier for additional support. The western stone abutment has been encased in concrete at some point after construction.

The former road is still quite visible and easily noticed in the winter when the foliage has died back.

On the west side of the ghost road is a large cut stone bridge abutment that once supported a steel through truss bridge constructed in 1890. The bridge, built by the Smith Bridge Company of Toledo, Ohio was a single span, pin connected Pratt through truss with a wooden deck that was 100 feet long. The west bridge abutment was concrete but has been totally removed from the site after the demolition. Fortunately, when I moved to the area in 1988, I had the privilege of driving over the bridge many times before it was demolished in 1989. Unfortunately I personally did not get any pictures of the bridge at that time.

GPS Location: 39º14’02.9″N 84º57’46.4″W