| Mary's River Covered Bridge | |
| Nearest City: | Chester, Illinois |
| Coordinates: | 37.9486°N -89.7658°W |
| Architecture: | Burr Arch design |
| Added: | December 31, 1974 |
| Refnum: | 74000771 |
Mary's River Covered Bridge is a covered bridge which crosses Marys River 4miles northeast of Chester, Illinois. The Burr truss bridge is long and 17feet wide. The bridge was built in 1854 as part of a plank toll road connecting Chester to Bremen; the bridge allowed agricultural products to be transported to Chester, a significant port on the Mississippi River. In the early 1870s, the toll road and the bridge were sold to Randolph County.[1] The bridge served road traffic until 1930.[2]
In 1936, the State of Illinois assumed ownership of the bridge in order to preserve it. The bridge is now located in a picnic area and park on the south side of Illinois Route 150. It is the only extant covered bridge in Southern Illinois.[2]
The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 1974.