The Little Bridge That Could

R to L: Historic Downtown Long Grove President Ryan Messner, Andrew Heckenkamp from Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Aaron Underwood, from the Long Grove Historical Society worked together today to advocate for placing the covered bridge on the National Register of Historic Places.

L to R: Historic Downtown Long Grove President Ryan Messner, Andrew Heckenkamp from Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Aaron Underwood, from the Long Grove Historical Society worked together today to advocate for placing the covered bridge on the National Register of Historic Places.

It was a victory in Springfield today for Long Grove! The esteemed historians and archaeologists who make up the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council just dumped a big bucket of awesome sauce on our covered bridge by voting unanimously to recommend it to the National Register of Historic Places. Aaron Underwood, Past President of the Long Grove Historical Society, was instrumental in preparing the 35 page application, and spoke on the merits of this landmark before the board at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield. The bridge, which dates from 1906, qualified because of the steel “pony truss” construction unique to that time period, as well as the original and ornate pedestrian walkway, which is still intact. The nostalgic cover was added in 1972, and according to the experts at the meeting today, might be eligible in five years for historic status on this feature as well. The next step in the process is approval by the National Park Service, which administers the National Register.

It was a thrill and an honor to be in Springfield today to witness our beloved bridge advance one giant step further towards this respected status. The Village has tried several times over the years to achieve this recognition, most recently in 2014, while I was Village President. But just like the “little engine that could,” we kept on trying, and finally with enough persistence, diligence, research and hard work, it looks like we might just be able to achieve the goal this time. Our application now moves on to Washington and in about six to eight weeks we expect to hear back with the news of final placement on the national list. We think we can, we think we can do it! Continue to keep your fingers crossed.

Here’s the Daily Herald article that appeared online on June 30:

http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20170630/long-grove-covered-bridge-recommended-for-national-register-of-historic-places