An 1838 state law gave county commissioners power to build bridges for public convenience and to raise taxes to pay for them. In 1875, Owen County Commissioners contracted for a Smith’s High Double Wood Truss over the Eel River in Jennings Township to replace a bridge destroyed by flood, and this bridge was finished in 1876. After vehicular traffic was diverted to a new concrete bridge finished in 1988, it served as a pedestrian bridge. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources began extensive repairs to the bridge in 2000. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and rededicated in 2006. It is the only remaining covered bridge in Owen County.