Near present-day Carlyle, a natural ford on the Kaskaskia River first drew bison, then Native Americans, and later settlers traveling the route that became the Goshen Trail. In 1811, John Hill settled near the ford, built a block house, and began a small ferry service. Seven years later, the Slade brothers opened a mercantile business nearby, Charles Slade laid out the town, and the brothers bought Hill’s ferry and replaced it with a bridge in 1824. After that bridge collapsed, it was rebuilt in 1831 and became an important link on the Vincennes-St. Louis stagecoach route. By the early 1850’s the second bridge was decaying, so a new suspension bridge was planned, opened in 1860, and spanned 280 feet with four 35-foot support towers. Though its design drew skepticism, it stood for 65 years and served residents and travelers including Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Horace Greeley, and William Jennings Bryan. Its decline began in 1925, but reduced traffic after construction of a U.S. Highway bridge helped spare it from heavier use. Following 20 years of decay and erosion, the Carlyle Suspension Bridge Restoration Association formed, and in 1951 a state appropriation of $20,000 was approved by Governor Adlai Stevenson II for restoration. The work was completed in the fall of 1953, and on November 11, 1953, the bridge was dedicated as the General William F. Dean Suspension Bridge in honor of Carlyle native General Dean, a Korean War prisoner of war for three years who received the Congressional Medal of Honor. In 1973 it was added to the Federal Register of National Historic Places, and after a 1989 appropriation of $250,000 for major renovation and rehabilitation, work was completed in 1991.