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Little Mary 's River, Randolph County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: IL/13-79-01
County: Randolph County
Township:
Town/Village: Chester
Bridge Name: Little Mary 's River
Crosses: Little Mary's River
Truss type: Burr
Spans: 1
Length: 98' or 88'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1854
Builder: Plank Road Company
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N37 56.912
Longitude: W089 45.953
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 4.2 miles northeast of jct IL3 on IL150 to the bridge on the east side of the road in a roadside park.

Little Mary 's River Bridge, Chester, Randolph County, IL Built 1854
Trish Kane/Richard Donovan Collection

Little Mary 's River Bridge, Chester, Randolph County, IL Built 1854
A.G. Kistler Photo, May 1940

Comments:
Closed. This bridge was built as a link in the seven mile long Bremen-to- Chester toll road, known as the Randolph County Plank Road, and was operated by a man named Hartman until the early 1870's. The road was an important connection to the busy river port of Chester. In the early 1870's, the company sold out to Randolph county and the bridge remained in its care until 1936 when it and the adjacent land was donated to the state for a park. The bridge was withdrawn from all but pedestrian use in 1930 and continued to deteriorate until 1954 when the people in and around Chester encouraged restoration by the state. The original remaining members are the white oak arches and trusses. Restored May 2005. The Eaton book lists the length as 88'.

Sources:
Eaton, Thelma. The Covered Bridges of Illinois, 1968, page 185
National Society For the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Covered Bridge Topics, Volume XXXIX, No. 1, Winter 1981, Page 5
National Society For the Preservation of Covered Bridges. Covered Bridge Topics, Volume XV, No. 2, July 1957, page 4
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 12

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