Wallace Covered Bridge

The Wallace Covered Bridge is an 81-foot Howe truss span built in 1871 by the firm of Barnhart and Aherns to carry a rural road across Sugar Mill Creek southeast of the small town of Wallace, in Jackson Township, Fountain County. Wallace itself, originally platted as Jacksonville, was renamed in honor of Indiana Governor David Wallace; the covered bridge became a landmark link for local farm traffic, and the crossing corridor was later used by the regional interurban rail line that served the area in the early twentieth century. Over the decades, storm damage weakened the bridge's trusses, and it required reinforcement to prevent collapse. It is the shortest of Fountain County's three surviving covered bridges and today is closed to vehicle traffic, preserved primarily as a pedestrian and historic site. Along with the county's Cades Mill and Rob Roy bridges, the Wallace Covered Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 24, 2021, following a nomination effort led by the Fountain County Art Council's Historical Committee. The Art Council, which also oversees Cades Mill, has identified Wallace as a priority for continued rehabilitation, working to secure grants and community donations to stabilize and preserve the structure for future generations.