J. A. Britton Explained

Joseph Albert Britton
Birth Date:1839
Death Date:1929
Nationality:American
Occupation:Bridge builder

Joseph Albert Britton (1839–1929), 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.[1]

Biography

According to a Historic American Engineering Record record, Britton was born in 1839 near Rockville, Indiana. He learned carpentry from his father, but began his career as an attorney with a practice in Lawrence, Kansas.[2] In 1879 he returned to Parke County and switched his focus to carpentry and bridgebuilding. 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.

Throughout his 33-year bridgebuilding career Britton built approximately 40 bridges in three Indiana counties: Parke, Putnam, and Vermillion.[3]

Work credits

Works (credit) include:

Family

J. A. Britton's son, Eugene Britton, built the Bowsher Ford Covered Bridge, a single span Burr Arch truss covered bridge structure, in 1915.[4] [5] On February 18, 1909, Eugene Britton was elected a director of the newly formed National Reserve Bank of the City of New York.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=64000193}} Parke County Covered Bridges TR]. National Park Service.
  2. Vlach . John . Joseph J. Daniels and Joseph A. Britton: Parke County's Covered Bridge Builders . Indiana Folklore: A Reader . 1980 . 23–24 . 978-0-253-10986-6 . 8 January 2024.
  3. Web site: Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge. . John M. Kelly.
  4. Web site: Bowsher Ford Covered Bridge (#32) . Parke County Incorporated / Parke County Convention and Visitors Commission . 20 September 2016.
  5. Web site: Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD) . Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology . Searchable database. 2016-06-01. Note: This includes Web site: National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Parke County Covered Bridge Historic District. 2016-06-01. Charles Felkner. December 1977., Site map, and Accompanying photographs.