Joseph Albert Britton (1839–1929),[1] most commonly known as J.A. Britton, was a builder of bridges in Indiana. He created many works that survive and are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[2][3]

Joseph Albert Britton
Born1839
Died1929
NationalityAmerican
OccupationBridge builder

Biography

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According to a Historic American Engineering Record record, Britton was born in 1839 near Rockville, Indiana.[1] He learned carpentry from his father, but began his career as an attorney with a practice in Lawrence, Kansas.[4] In 1879 he returned to Parke County and switched his focus to carpentry and bridgebuilding.[4] After Britton's primary regional competitor J. J. Daniels retired in 1904, Britton was engaged to build most of the bridges in Parke County between 1904 and 1917.[4]

Throughout his 33-year bridgebuilding career Britton built approximately 40 bridges in three Indiana counties: Parke, Putnam, and Vermillion.[1]

Work credits

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Cox Ford Bridge

Works (credit) include:

 
Narrows Bridge (Indiana)

Family

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J. A. Britton's son, Eugene Britton, built the Bowsher Ford Covered Bridge, a single span Burr Arch truss covered bridge structure, in 1915.[5][6] On February 18, 1909, Eugene Britton was elected a director of the newly formed National Reserve Bank of the City of New York.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c John M. Kelly. "Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge". Historic American Engineering Record.
  2. ^ "Parke County Covered Bridges TR". National Park Service.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c Vlach, John (1980). "Joseph J. Daniels and Joseph A. Britton: Parke County's Covered Bridge Builders". Indiana Folklore: A Reader: 23–24. ISBN 978-0-253-10986-6. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Bowsher Ford Covered Bridge (#32)". Parke County Incorporated / Parke County Convention and Visitors Commission. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-06-01. Note: This includes Charles Felkner (December 1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Parke County Covered Bridge Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-06-01., Site map, and Accompanying photographs.
  7. ^ "Oriental Bank Merged", The New York Times, New York City, p. 6, February 19, 1909, retrieved January 19, 2017