A little information about Fall Creek
Fall Creek is an unincorporated town in Fall Creek Township, Adams County, Illinois, United States. Fall Creek lies along Highway 172 southwest of Payson.
Fall Creek gets its proper name from a close-by creek of the corresponding name, which was designated for a waterfall along its course. A United States post office named Falls Creek was founded in 1861, and closed in 1866. The post office was reinstated in 1872, the name was changed to Fallcreek in 1894, and the post office was suspended in 1909.
Fall Creek is near Payson, Illinois. A major attraction near Fall Creek is the Fall Creek Bridge. The bridge is made of stone in the middle 1800’s. The bridge is made like an arch and spans over top of Fall Creek. The bridge is a popular destination for tourists into to bridges and scenic areas. It a popular location for families to visit with their children to explore, play in the water and to picnic.
More information about this historic and scenic bridge can be found below.
Fall Creek Bridge
From the Illinois Department of Natural Resources website.
The Fall Creek Scenic Overlook in southwest Adams County, a unit of Siloam Springs State Park, was originally developed as a rest area that overlooks the Mississippi River valley. Although the area has a limited acreage, it contains high-quality forested habitat and provides quality archery deer hunting opportunities. Fall Creek Scenic Overlook is located three miles southwest of Payson and 12 miles south of Quincy in Adams County. https://www.dnr.illinois.gov/Parks/Pages/FallCreek.aspx
More details information about the Fall Creek Bridge itself see below.
Fall Creek Stone Arch Bridge
This information was excerpted from the Bridgehunter website.
This majestic stone arch span stands 33 feet above Fall Creek Gorge. Constructed of natural stone over 100 years ago it stands as a monument to man and his ingenuity.
Originally constructed to save farmers going to Hannibal, Missouri, the trouble of fording the gorge, the bridge continued in service until 1949, when the newer bridge was constructed 300 yards to the southwest. The bridge has the widest arch span of any stone bridge built in Illinois in the nineteenth century to carry traffic. ~ text from nearby marker ~
Length of bridge: 48 ft
Height of bridge: 33 ft
What type of traffic does this bridge support?: now it is for hikers
What kind of gap does this bridge cross?: Fall Creek Gorge
Date constructed: early 19th century
Is the bridge still in service for its original purpose?: No (see above)
Name of road or trail the bridge services: Gorge Trail from the Fall Creek Rest Area
Location: 1.6 mile north of Fall Creek IL
Some Comments about the bridge from the website.
Posted November 4, 2010, by Elizabeth Davis (libby0936 [at] msn [dot] com)
My Father, Omer Megehe, took me to see this bridge around 1948 or 49. At that time you could still drive up to the east end of the bridge. He was born a short distance east of that area in 1894, and lived there until a teenager. He told me a story about a neighbor boy who came to their house and begged to ride their only horse. My grandfather James, finally said he could, but not to ride him across the bridge because he was shy of it. Sometime later, the boy came walking down the road crying. He had tried to take the horse across the bridge. The horse had reared, he fell to the ground and the horse went over the side into the gorge.
I have visited this stone bridge many times over the years. It is one of my favorite places, I love it there. When the State finally decided to fix up the area and protect the bridge, I was very happy because people were starting to carry away some of the large stones atop the bridge. Last Sunday, Oct. 31, 2010, I took my granddaughter to visit the bridge. Not having been there for a few years, I was dismayed to see the park had since been closed. The bridge area is covered with weeds and the path down to the water is nearly impassible. I can see that some of the motor from earlier repairs is crumbling. What a tragic thing to let this peice of history fall into ruin. I hope that someone can get the State to do something about the condition before it is too late. I intend to write a letter to the State, to see if something can be done to have this peice of history saved.
To see the original page click here.
Here are some images of the Fall Creek Bridge that are very nice.
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