LAWRENCE CO. – Saturday, the Williams Community Covered Bridge Dinner was held at the Williams Covered Bridge for the fifth year in a row, with all 175 seats sold out, and speaker Brandt Baughman, the Deputy Director of Indiana State Parks.
A combined effort of volunteers from the Williams community, the Lawrence County Tourism Board, Community Corrections, the Bedford Lions Club and the County Bridge Crew, the dinner went off without a hitch for the fifth year in a row.
Also key in its success was Tonya Chastain and Kayde Fults from Lawrence County Tourism.
The two women are instrumental in pulling the event together and arranging the technicalities. Each year, they keep notes on what went well and what will need improvement in the future.
“As soon as the dinner is over, we start planning for next year,” said Tonya Chastain.
Attended by veterans like Cheryl and Bob Walton, and newcomers like Andrea and Brad Deckard, the event boasted meal catering by Golden Corral in Bedford, drawing prizes, and a comfortably breezy, unique setting for a dinner.
Brandt spoke on the importance of cherishing and preserving historical locations like the covered bridge, and ensuring that future generations have a history and culture they are proud of and can happily come back to.
The Williams Covered Bridge was built in 1884 by Joseph J. Daniels. Daniels mortgaged his farm to build the bridge for roughly $18,000, and later lost the farm. The bridge remains one of Indiana’s longest double-span covered bridges.
The bridge crosses the East Fork of the White River. It is a Howe Truss design, a length of 402 feet including 13 feet of overhangs, and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981.
