Sugar Creek Covered Bridge

Sugar Creek Covered Bridge is a wooden crossing over Sugar Creek in a park setting in Sangamon County. The structure uses a Burr truss design that creates an open interior, revealing how it was built by hand and skill.

Thomas Black built this covered crossing in 1880 as a practical way for wagons and vehicles to cross the creek. It became the oldest of five remaining covered bridges that still stand in Illinois.

The bridge sits at the heart of Pioneer Park and shows how people built and used wood structures in the 1800s. You can see today how communities valued these crossings as important gathering places.

The bridge is now part of a park with picnic tables and open grass areas to explore. Visit during daytime hours so you can see the wooden interior clearly and walk at your own pace.

The state bought the bridge in 1963 and closed it to regular vehicle traffic soon after. Today visitors can walk through it freely without worrying about cars, making it a true pedestrian crossing for history lovers.