Young Covered Bridge
Boone County, North Caledonia. Built 1890, 75 ft. long. Also known as the Rockford Bolt Co. Bridge, a private-property span over Kinnikinnick Creek near Rockford.
The Young Covered Bridge, also recorded as the Rockford Bolt Co. Bridge, crosses Kinnikinnick Creek in North Caledonia, just east of Rockford in Boone County. Built in 1890 on a Howe truss, the 75-foot span is one of the newer 19th-century covered bridges left in Illinois, and among the state's most obscure — it sits on private land, out of public view, and can only be visited with the owner's permission.
Despite its low profile, the bridge is a genuine survivor of Illinois's covered bridge era, standing quietly through more than 130 years while dozens of contemporaries across the state were lost to floods, fires, and neglect. Its private setting has likely helped it endure: away from public roads and heavy traffic, the bridge has faced far less wear than more heavily used spans like the Red Covered Bridge closer to the interstate. It remains one of the least-visited, least-documented entries among Illinois's small roster of surviving covered bridges.
