Just outside of Cowden, Illinois, hidden on the back roads of America, is the historic Thompson Mill Covered Bridge.

The bridge is named after a mill that sat in the same location and operated between 1843 and 1914. The bridge was built In 1868 at a cost of $2,500 to span the Kaskaskia River on an important route that connected Springfield to Effingham. An interesting fact is that this is the narrowest covered bridge in the state at a width of only 10’7″.

There is a small parking lot just off of County Road 1790 E. The bridge is closed to vehicular traffic, but open to pedestrian traffic. I love that each covered bridge I have visited is unique in its own way. I liked that this bridge was unpainted and natural and that the wooden floor planks were laid in a diagonal fashion.

On the far side of the bridge is a small set of stairs and you can climb down the river bank for a different vantage point.

Overall, this was a great stop on our road trip around Central Illinois. We also visited Fox Ridge State Park, the Lincoln Cabin Historic Site and Jackson Truss Covered Bridge.