Take a roadtrip through Owen County and check out these three historic markers
Lance GideonOwen County has no shortage of historic locations within its borders.
From the historic structures at McCormick's Creek State Park to the Dr. H.G. Osgood House in Gosport, there are several locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Owen County.
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While the National Register of Historic Places is a list maintained by the National Parks Service within the federal government, the state of Indiana has also designated a few sites in Owen County as historically significant.
In Owen County, there are three sites which are part of the Indiana Historical Bureau's Historical Marker Program.
These sites include the Camp Hughes marker in Gosport, the Owen County Courthouse marker in Spencer and the Cataract Falls Covered Bridge marker located at Cataract Falls State Recreation Area.
Camp Hughes
The Camp Hughes historic marker is located near the intersection of State Road 67 and North 7th Street in Gosport, across from the town's Dollar General.
The marker was erected in 1963 by the Indiana Civil War Centennial Commission.
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According to the marker, Camp Hughes was located about one-half mile southwest of Gosport along the White River and served as a training camp during the Civil War for the 59th Indiana Volunteer Infantry from 1861 to 1862.
The 59th Infantry was officially organized on Feb. 11, 1962 and soon moved to Commerce, Mo.
It was active during the war until July 1865 — about three months after President Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C.
The regiment saw action along several fronts during the war, including the Battle of Vicksburg, Battle of Raymond, Battle of Jackson, Battle of Champion Hill and during Sherman's March to the Sea in late 1864.
A monument dedicated to the 59th Indiana Volunteer Infantry is located at the Vicksburg National Memorial Park in Mississippi and Louisiana.
Owen County Courthouse
The Owen County Courthouse marker is located on the southwest side of the courthouse square, at the intersection of Market and Main streets, in Spencer.
This marker was installed in 1997 by the Indiana Historical Bureau and Owen County Preservations, Inc.
According to text on the marker, the courthouse was designed by Jesse Johnson of Indianapolis.
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It was constructed between 1910 and 1911 by Christian Kanzler & Son of Evansville, Ind.
The current courthouse is the second that was constructed site, which was donated by Daniel Beem.
The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1994.
Cataract Falls Covered Bridge
The most recently-installed marker in Owen County is for the Cataract Falls Covered Bridge, located at Cataract Falls State Recreation Area, 2605 N. Cataract Rd., Spencer.
The marker was installed in 2008 by the Indiana Historical Bureau, Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Owen County Historical and Genealogical Society.
The marker notes that "(a)n 1838 state law gave county commissioners power to build bridges for "public convenience" and to raise taxes to pay for them."
In 1875, the Owen County Board of Commissioners approved a contract for "a 'Smith's High Double Wood Truss' over Eel River in Jennings Township to replace bridge destroyed by flood."
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The bridge was complete in 1876.
Vehicles used the covered bridge until 1988, when a modern concrete bridge was constructed and opened to traffic.
The bridge is now used as a pedestrian walkway and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2005.
Contact Reporter-Times, Times-Mail and Spencer Evening World editor Lance Gideon at lgideon@reporter-times.com or 765-342-1543. Follow him on Twitter: @LanceOGideon.