"Cades Mill Bridge"
Fountain County, Indiana
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.