Covered Bridge (Cowden, Illinois)
Thompson mill covered bridge located in Drypoint township in Shelby county
Illinois has one span is 110 feet long, 11 feet wide, and 11 feet tall it
was built in 1887 in Michigan and ship to Drypoint township, by way of rail,l
at a cost of $2500 it is a Howe type bridge. There are many myths about
why the bridge was covered. One was that the horse wouldn't see the runing
water bellow, another was that it was easier to drive cattle across the
rivers and one evens say it was for shelter from sudden storms yet another
states that the roof made the bridge stronger.
The bridge is one of five bridges that remain in Illinois. The bridge got
it's name from the old corn mill and saw mill located upstream.
The bridge was located on the mainroad between Springfield and Effingham.
the Thompson Mill Bridge is one of the most preserved bridges in the state,
and is a historical marker that Illinois is proud to have .
After More than 100 years of carrying horses, wagons, and modern day cars
the bridge earned its retirement. In 1987 the construction of a new three
span bridge began. The new bridge was located some 150 feet upstream. A
parking lot was placed on the north side of the covered bridge so the bridge
could be open to foot traffic.
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HISTORY OF COWDEN
Cowden was started when a Man named Mr. Cowden had herd that a railroad
would be built from Shawneetown, Ohio to Beardstown, IL. When Mr. Cowden
looked at the map he calculated that the rail road would go right through
his property. Mr. Cowden who owned a repair shop on the north side of the
present day Cowden told the farmers of the surrounding land about this prophecy.
The farmers did not believe this prophecy until it became true. When they
herd that railway engineers had got some 20 miles away. Mr. cowden went
to these engineers everyday until they came to his property. Mr. cowden
did anything he could to keep the city secured. At that time cowden was
located on the south-east quarter of Sec. 4, T 9, R 3 and was surveyed and
platted by John Maguier, April 15, 1872 under the direction of H. M. Cowden,
for whom the village was named. It consisted of 10 blocks, all lying west
of Mainstreet and running 5 blocks north from where the present grade school
stands. In 1875 the Frowler & Hudson addition of 20 acres was made;
then the Cleveland & Zeugler addition in 1874, of 40 acres. On the 4th
day of June, 1875 an election was held to decide if a village should be
organized under general law or against the organization under general law.
The vote was unanimous there being 53 votes polled.
In 1875 the town made a quite vigorous growth, and improvement was the prevailing
order. During that year three neat church edifices were erected, respectively
by the Christian the United Brethren and Southern Methodist and Methodist
Episcopal Church. The first Dry Goods Merchant was C. E Ziegler, in 1872.
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The Thompson Mill
The first mill was built by Higgins & Thompson on the Kaskaskia in 1843.
It supplied a want, long felt, as a corn and saw mill for the neighborhood.
Prior to it's erection, parties had a long distance to go to mill, and it
is related that flies were so bad on the prairies that persons were compelled
to travel to and from the mill by night time. The mill was destroyed and
rebuilt in 1862. A post office, called hart, was opened at the mill in 1860.
It was kept by W. Jackson Banning.
In 1900 Milton Lankford bought the mill and ran it until 1914 along with
a general store at the same site. the mill was torn down in 1914.
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