The Melcher Covered Bridge, also known as the "Klondyke Covered Bridge", "Marion Covered Bridge", or the "Leatherwood Covered Bridge", crosses Leatherwood Creek east of Montezuma, Parke County, Indiana, and is a single-span Burr Arch Truss covered bridge structure that was built by Joseph J. Daniels in 1896.

The name "Melcher Covered Bridge" comes from the nearby Melcher Station, which was originally on the Cincinnati, Hamilton, and Dayton Railway (1846–1917). The CH&D and the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad crossed just west of the bridge.

The name "Marion Covered Bridge" comes from the Marion Brick Company, which was south and west of the bridge. The bridge may have been built to provide road access to Montezuma, located two miles west.

The name "Klondyke Covered Bridge" comes from the nearby community of Klondyke, named after the Klondike Gold Rush, but in this case, it was clay for bricks.

The name "Leatherwood Covered Bridge" was used, but it would cause confusion with Leatherwood Station Covered Bridge and Leatherwood Ford.

While J. J. Daniels built the bridge, the portals no longer have his trademark portal arches. The portals have been modified to resemble those built by William Hendricks and Joseph A. Britton on their shorter bridges. The original shale of the shale and hewn limestone abutments, which matches the stone in the creek, has crumbled, so cement was poured around the original stone.

Melcher Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Located at:  N39 47.346   W87 20.104     -     WGCB #14-61-26

Photographed in May of 2022

Photos by Millard Farmer