THE BRIDGES OF SANGAMON COUNTY ...
By David Blanchette, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
. . . and Bureau, Henderson, Randolph and Shelby
Counties. You don't have to travel to Iowa to see covered bridges. There are five historic covered bridges
remaining in Illinois. All are significant enough to be
listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and all
were built to carry horse-drawn wagon traffic over
Illinois' rivers and streams.
Two other covered bridges were destroyed by arson — the Washington Street Bridge in Sangamon
County in December 1977, and the Wolf Covered
Bridge in Knox County in August 1994.
There were more than 200 covered bridges in Illinois during the 1800s, and between 1930 and 1880 such
wooden trussed structures were preferred for bridges.
Covered bridges offered several advantages over other
methods of construction, the most important being that
the roof and siding protected the bridge's wooden support system from the elements, much as the roof and
siding on a house protects its contents. Covered bridges
sheltered many a traveler from sudden storms. In addition, cattle often could not be driven across open
bridges, but they readily crossed covered bridges.
Early settlers claimed the covered bridges reminded
cattle of the barns in which they normally found food
and shelter.
The Thompson Mill Covered Bridge crosses the
Kaskaskia River one-half mile north of Cowden and 2.5
miles east of Illinois Route 128 in Shelby County. The
bridge was built in 1867 a short distance from Lillie's
Mill on a major highway from Springfield through Taylorville to Effingham. The bridge may have been
named for a previous bridge at or near the site beside
which stood a mill owned by John Thompson, who
claimed the surrounding land in 1839. It has also been
called the Dry Point Bridge for the township in which it
is located. Shelby County appropriated $2,000 for the
bridge and later added $500 for roofing and siding. It
has an overall length of 160 feet with a covered span of
103 feet. The original timbers are still intact, and the
roof and siding have been restored.
Sugar Creek Covered Bridge,
3 miles south of Lake Springfield
Bridge in Sangamon County.
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Sugar Creek Covered Bridge crosses Sugar Creek
about three-quarters of a mile west of 1-55 and three
miles south of the Lake Springfield Bridge in Sangamon
County. It was built around 1880 by Thomas Black and
has a 60 foot clear span. Sugar Creek Covered Bridge
was restored in 1965 following passage of a state law
requiring covered bridge maintenance. Further work is
being done now with funds from the Intermodal Surface Transportation Enhancement Act grant program.
The Oquawka Wagon Bridge crosses Henderson
Creek about 2.5 miles south of Oquawka. It was built in
1866 by Jacob Allaman at the site of a previous structure
known as the Eames Bridge on land claimed by one of
Henderson County's first settlers, James Ryason. Allaman built barns and bridges in Pennsylvania before he
moved in 1858 to a home four miles east of Oquawka,
and he likely built other bridges in the area. In service
for 68 years, the Oquawka Wagon Bridge was given to
the State of Illinois in 1935 when the road was relocated
and a new bridge built 300 feet downstream. The
bridge is 104 feet long, and all structural members were
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July 1995 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 11
made of hand hewn native black walnut. The bridge
was restored in 1982 following a flood, and the restoration work won a Historic Preservation and Cultural
Enhancement Award from the U.S. Department of
Transportation.
Mary's River Covered Bridge crosses the Little
Mary's River about four miles north of Chester and
along the southeast side of Illinois Route 150. The
bridge was built in 1854 of hand-hewn native white oak
timber and was in constant use through 1930. Construction was financed through proceeds of a toll road between Chester and Bremen known as the Randolph
County Plank Road, which the bridge carried over the
Little Mary's River. A vital link in the road, the bridge
aided the passage of farm products from the area to the
busy river port of Chester. The structure is 86 feet long
and rests on its original stone abutments. The bridge is
located on land that was presented to the State of Illinois, and was restored in 1954.
The Red Covered Bridge crosses Bureau Creek 1.25
miles north of 1-80 and half a mile west of Illinois Route
26 near Princeton. Demand for the bridge began in
1862, and the Bureau County Board of Supervisors responsed to the demand by appointing a bridge building
committee. Selected by a meeting of Bureau County
residents at a meeting on March 7,1863, the members of
the Union Bridge Committee oversaw the construction
and financing of the structure. The bridge was completed in 1863 at a cost of $3,148 and features a 95-foot
main span resting on masonry piers. It was built to serve
highway traffic on a major road between Peoria and
Galena. A sign on each end advised everyone of the
rules governing use of the bridge: "Five dollars fine for
driving more than twelve horses, mules or cattle at one
time or for leading any beast faster than a walk on or
across this bridge."
The first covered bridge to be built in Illinois was
probably constructed in 1827 at Carrollton in Greene
County, while the last to be built was the Greenbush
Covered Bridge in Warren County, built in the late
1890s. After the mid-1800s, Illinoisans increasingly preferred iron trussed bridges, and many of the covered
bridges were probably replaced with iron ones. Under
terms of a law passed in 1963 by the Illinois General
Assembly, all of Illinois' covered bridges are now maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation. •
Page 12 / Illinois Municipal Review / July 1995
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