Illinois Covered Bridges - Captain Swift

Late afternoon sun over the Captain
Swift Bridge. 4/20/19 (dwm)

For a new bridge - there an interesting story behind the Captain Swift Covered Bridge near Princeton, Illinois.

I first went to Princeton because of the Red Covered Bridge, built in 1863 over Bureau Creek.  This bridge got my attention, but since it was so new (Built 2006); I didn't consider shooting it until I started closing in on the other Illinois covered bridges.

The bridge replaced an old, rusting bridge of the same name.  That bridge was one lane wide, could only handle certain amounts of weight, and was on a dangerous curve.

The engineer proposed a large two-lane wood covered bridge, arguing that the tourists it might attract would pay for the job over time.

I wondered about the name... since how many captains were likely to live in central Illinois?

Captain Samuel T. Swift was born in 1784 in Dorchester, Massachusetts.  He captained a merchant ship 24 years and is thought to make it to the northwest coast of North America on water.  He retired in 1838 to Illinois where he bought land.

The Captain Swift is built of wood to meet modern
bridge standards.  4/20/2019  dwm photo

As you might recall from blogs about Indiana's covered bridges, they were frequently named for nearby land-owners - which is how his name lives on long after his death in 1862.

The bridge seems out of scale compared to the vast majority of covered bridges I've seen.

Other than the Wolf Bridge featured last week - most bridges are one lane with limited clearance since they were made for horses and their wagons.

The Big Bureau Creek flows under the Captain just a few
miles south of the Red Bridge. 4/20/2019 (dwm)

This one is different.

It doesn't have the same charm the earlier bridges possess, but I applaud the effort and out of the box thinking to put a roof and walls around a bridge.

Well done, Princeton and Bureau County.

Captain Swift Bridge
Built: 2006
Style: Burr Arch
Length: 119 feet over Big Bureau Creek

See more covered bridge by following this link.