As you enter the property you will pass through The Jim Elliott Clock Tower Bridge. It was truly a labor of love – designed and built by Jim Elliott. The original sketch for the idea of the bridge was drawn in April of 2008 and construction began in March of 2011. Construction continued through the year and was finalized in early 2012.
The bridge is built with western red cedar and measures 20 X 80 feet. It has a walking deck on the east side with windows you can look out over the rolling landscape. The arches on the bridge were bent by Jim by boiling and bending them in a jig and pulling the wood around the jig with a wrench and letting it dry in place.
The clock tower consists of three six foot clocks made by the maker of Lexan and cut out with a laser cutter. The numerals are cut and chemically welded to the Lexan and set with a jig to make them all perfectly consistent with each other.
The clock and bridge are beautifully lit at night for a wonderful ambiance. As far as we are currently aware, this is the only drive through covered bridge in the state of Kansas.
One of the highlights of your stay can be a guided trip up into the clock tower to see for yourself just how it was built.
If you are interested in viewing an interview done by KTWU PBS’ show “Rural Vistas”, you can view the show here (Jim’s portion is around 18.38 into the show).
