Spring to see restoration work on Cades Mill Bridge
Jan. 9—COVINGTON, Ind. — Fountain County Art Council, Inc. Historical Committee members and others in the area have reached a milestone in efforts to restore the Cades Mill covered bridge.
Four years of grant writing, fundraising and promotion have netted $350,000 toward the restoration of Cades Mill Bridge.
A successful bid of $409,000 was awarded to SSRG (Structural Systems Repair Group) of Cincinnati, Ohio in December 2023.
This will address the repair of the understructure and entrance portals. Entry railing, concrete work and painting will require an additional $50,000, according to the committee.
Work is slated to begin in the spring.
At one time there were more than 500 covered bridges in Indiana.
Only 86 remain and Fountain County is home to three — Cade's Mill in Wabash Township being the oldest that remains on its original site.
These bridges were important economic as well as social links for the development of western Indiana.
Built in 1854, Cade's Mill covered bridge remains as a link to this area's heritage.
The bridge is located on Cade's Hollow Road, Wabash Township, Fountain County (just west and south of Veedersburg on Indiana 136).
Cade's Mill covered bridge was a link between the Wabash Valley area, with Covington as the county seat of Fountain County, and the land office in Crawfordsville. It was so essential that the Wabash & Erie Canal Association provided financial support for its structure in 1854.
The Fountain County Historical Committee, working under the auspices of the Fountain County Art Council, Inc. and county government, undertook the restoration project in September 2019.
Fifty-two thousand dollars of donated funds were spent on stabilization. Repair specifications by Kurdziel & Barker Bridge engineers of Indianapolis were completed in 2023.
"As we approach the county's 200th birthday (July 2026) it is only fitting that we do everything possible to preserve, conserve, rehab and restore Fountain County's three remaining covered bridges. They are gems from our past that need to remain for future generations," according to the committee.
Fountain County Art Council, Inc. Historical Committee Chairman is Henry Schmitt. Fountain County Art Council Inc. President is Jim Hegg. Fountain County Historian is Carol Ann Freese.
Committee members ask the public to consider donating. All funds are managed by the Western Indiana Community Foundation and are tax deductible. Donations can be mailed to: WICF, Attn Bridge Fund, 135 Stringtown Road, P.O. Box 175, Covington, Indiana 47932.
Endangered landmark
Cades Mill Covered Bridge is the oldest covered bridge that remains on its original site, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places as well as being included in Indiana Landmarks Ten Most Endangered Historic Structures.
The committee hired CLR Construction of Bloomington, Ind. to do further stabilization of the bridge.
Built to help Fountain County's early settlers travel to a mill at Coal Creek. It has served as a pedestrian bridge for decades, bypassed after construction of a newer concrete bridge in 1976. Deferred maintenance in the intervening years hastened the historic bridge's decline.
In 2019, a covered bridge contractor assessing the bridge discovered a broken chord, a serious structural compromise that unless repaired could cause the 150-foot bridge to collapse.
The Fountain County Art Council Historical Committee has been raising money for complete rehabilitation. Repairs are estimated at more than $800,000, and ongoing pandemic-related labor and materials shortages were expected to increase the price tag.
