According to Indiana Landmarks, Fountain County’s Cades Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1854, holds status as the state’s oldest covered bridge still in its original location, but it’s a distinction in peril. In 2019, a covered bridge contractor hired to assess the bridge discovered a broken chord, a serious structural compromise that unless repaired could cause the 150-foot bridge to collapse.
Built to help Fountain County’s early settlers travel to a mill at Coal Creek, the span is one of three historic covered bridges remaining in Fountain County. It’s only seen use 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.
Technical info: Toya 45A, 150mm, pol. filter, Ektar 100, ¼ s @f22, wet-mount scan Epson V750, finished in PS.