The Milroy Covered Bridge, also known as the Shelhorn Covered Bridge, is a restored Burr arch truss at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Crown Point, Indiana.
Built in 1878 by noted bridge builder Archibald M. Kennedy, the structure originally stood near the Fred Shelhorn farm outside Milroy in Rush County, where it crossed the Little Flatrock River. It served rural traffic there for decades. On January 16, 1931, the bridge narrowly escaped destruction when an arson attempt caused only minor damage before the fire was extinguished.
The bridge’s survival was secured two years later. In 1933, Lake County purchased the span for just $25 and moved it to Crown Point, where it was carefully dismantled, relocated, and rebuilt over a gully at the Lake County Fairgrounds. The effort was led by Col. John W. Wheeler, son of Crown Point’s first mayor, who played a central role in preserving the historic structure. By that time, the original crossing in Rush County had already been replaced by a newer bridge constructed by the Indiana State Highway Commission as part of State Road 3.
Today, the Milroy Covered Bridge remains one of Indiana’s preserved nineteenth-century covered bridges, notable not only for its craftsmanship but also for the unusual effort that saved it from demolition. Later restoration work was funded in part by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources through the Lake Michigan Coastal Program.
