Ideal vendor location, just a few steps from the Bridge!

James Kelsey and wife came to the Mansfield area from Ireland in 1819. Later, he and Francis Dicksen erected a mill in about 1820. Others who assisted included William Bullington, Thomas Wolverton, Bliss Kelley Nelson, Hubbard, Kelsey, and Dicksen. The village was on the Indian trail from Orchard Town (in Terre Haute) to Cornstalk, an Indian village in Sugar Creek Township. The mill was about 30 feet square and the foundation of the mill and dam was an unbroken floor of red sandstone.

The village was called New Dublin, named after the Irish city.

​Colonel Johnston was elected county commissioner in 1866. As some of his opponents predicted, he built a covered bridge in 1867. The ethical questions arose because he owned the land on both sides of the bridge and a new access road had to be built on the east side.

One month after the completion of the Roseville Bridge, J.J. Daniels was appointed to draw up plans and specifications for the Mansfield Bridge. He was awarded the contract on December 7, 1866, and the bridge was completed and inspected September 4, 1867.

Although built in 1867 for wagons, the Mansfield Bridge still has a 10 ton load limit. In one story, while the bridge was still used for state route 59, three loaded oil trucks approached the bridge. The first truck stalled out just before leaving the bridge, and all three trucks came to a stop on the two spans. There was no apparent damage to the strong structure.

The small structure southwest of the bridge is a gauging station. It is used to remotely report the water level and to calculate the rate of water release from Mansfield Reservoir.