Lincoln's New Salem Pedestrian Covered Bridge
Last summer my wife and I traveled to Illinois to visit with family and go to some Abraham Lincoln museums. It was a fun trip and I learned a lot about our 16th president.
While running around, we stumbled across this dilapidated old covered bridge. Of course I had to look it up. It's an old covered pedestrian bridge that's part of Lincoln's New Salem Historic Site. It's located about 2 miles south of Petersburg on Route 97.
The Illinois Capital Development Board describes the bridge as a steel structure with wooden decking, wooden walls, and a roof. It spans the highway near the site's Grist Mill.
I could not verify a definitive construction date from the available records, but the bridge should not automatically be considered an 1830s bridge from Abraham Lincoln’s time. Lincoln lived in New Salem from 1831 to 1837, but the present historic village is a reconstructed interpretation of that settlement. The bridge crosses a modern highway and is a separate piece of infrastructure. It almost certainly does not date back to his lifetime.
Although this bridge has an important connection to the history of the site, its story has taken a troubling turn. The bridge is no longer simply an aging historic feature: Illinois state documents describe it as severely deteriorated, closed to the public for more than five years, and slated for demolition. As of October 9, 2026, Illinois has an active project to demolish the bridge and the former Hilltop Restaurant located nearby.