LICKSKILLET BETTER KNOWN AS RED BRIDGE BY RON WOODWARD Lickskillet was founded in 1849 on the north side of the Mississinewa River about four miles west of Somerset and at the south end of Mill Creek and Mississinewa Gravel Road. It was located in the southwest corner of Section 19, Township 26N, Range 5E. It was laid out by William Stewart and Henry Jackson. A grist mill and saw mill were built in 1853 above Lickskillet by Stewart & Jackson. In 1869 it had a population of 20 people, flour mill, saw mill, cooper shop, one doctor and six residences. Both the flour mill and saw mill were owned by a Mr. Niccum. A Mr. Aydelott ran the flour mill. By 1875 there were four residences, a business run by Brubaker & Unger as well as the flour mill and saw mill. A school and church sat 1/2 mile to the northeast of the community. A covered wooden bridge, painted red, was built there to cross the Mississinewa River in 1874. The structure replaced a ford which had formerly served the local residents. After the building of the bridge the community took on the name Red Bridge. By 1930 the wooden bridge was removed, and an iron bridge replaced the old structure. This re- mained until torn down by the Corps of Engineers in the 1960s with the construction of the Mississinewa Dam. A part of the town was located on Reservation #26, which was on the west side of Mill Creek Pike and north of the River. The Pike separated Reservation #26 from Section 19. Elihu Weesner, Nathan Weesner and Andrew Starbuck were among the first to settle on Reservation #26. The grist mill and sawmill were replaced in 1882 with another. The motive power was threshing machines which were united, turning out 5,000 feet of sawed lumber a day. In 1884 Thomas & Coble ran the mill. There was also a store and post office, and Albert Trent operated a blacksmith shop at the foot of the Red Bridge hill. The town never boasted of a church or school within the town limits. However there was a school and church about ½ mile to the northeast of the community. College Corner Church organized in 1858 a school house and in 1859 a meeting house was erected across the road it. There was also the Pleasant Grove Wesleyan Methodist Church which for se- veral years had an orchestra. Pleasant Grove was begun in 1847 at the house of James Starbuck. In 1860 a meeting house was built at Section 25 Township 26N Range 5E, and a cemetery laid out as well. An addition to Red Bridge was Milo-Dora Heights. The name was conceived and given by Milo and Dora Bowman for whom the Heights are named. The addition consi- sted of 11 cottages some being permanent homes while others summer homes. By 1890 Red Bridge had a mill, grocery store, saloon, barber shop, a couple of other stores and several houses. The grocery store had a huckster wagon that went out into the surrounding countryside buying and selling. Farther west was another group of summer homes on the north side of the river known as Broad Ripple. Between Broad Ripple and Red Bridge is Listen Glen. During the Flood of 1913, high waters came into several of the homes causing many to seek other quarters temporarily. Flood waters came into the store on the north side of the river, reaching the height of the store's counters. In 1929 and 1933, the water overflowed, but the damage was not as severe. Among the distinguished personages of the past who called Red Bridge home were Justice Benjamin T. Shaw, Samuel C. Sweet, Dr. Foust and Dr. White. One older resident remembers in 1926, the Boy Scout troops of North Manchester and Liberty Mills, altogether about 100 boys, camped out in pup tents at Listen Glen Park. Their scout master was Al Weimer and Toby Speicher the cook. After a week of strenu- ous exercise and play, plus short rations of food, Weimer marched the boys to the grocery store at Red Bridge 2 ½ miles away. When they got there 100 half starved teenage boys faced the grocery store. The proprietor and his wife came out on the front porch to watch as "Fall out" was called. Panic filled the eyes of the store owners as 100 boys charged them. They retreated inside as the mob all tried to be first into the store. Store cases were moved as the store was swelled with boys, who had nickels and dimes to spend. Candy, cookies and anything that wasn't canned was soon gone. In 1936 there were two stores in Red Bridge. One store located on the north side of the river where the stores of the past we located and operated by Guy Bowman. The other on the south side of the river owned by Alva Manning. The post office was closed about 1900. The population of Red Bridge (1936) was approximately 50. In 1942 the U.S. government was looking for a site for a new Naval Air Base. They investigated and considered a site south of Red Bridge but instead picked Bunker Hill in Miami County. By the early 1960s all that was left was several residences and a general store run by Garl "Pruney" Mullett. Mullett was the last to leave when the community was destroyed to make way for the Mississenwa Reservoir. The U.S. Corps of Engineers "just pulled" the bridge "off the pier and it went down. There's a lot of iron there," said Mullett. "They went in and cut all the trees down. Then two bulldozers pushed trees to the river- bank. It wasn't 20 minutes before they had it clean. Then they burnt them." Mullett left October 13, 1964. Mullett moved to the intersection of CR 700W and 1100S about three miles from the edge of the lake. He built a new general store and moved in a mobile home beginning New Red Bridge. Before long the new community had 10 citizens a gas station, general store, marina and garage as well as four mobile homes. Mullett sold out to Verile and Pauline Denniston. Today the residences are still there but the businesses long gone.