Hiram B. Trout and his brother, Everett Trout, were born on a farm about five miles north of this location and later operated a machine shop in Shelbyville, Illinois, in the late 1800s, where they invented and patented the unique design for this pony truss bridge. Between 1892 and 1897, they built about 150 of these bridges, which were erected in Shelby and neighboring counties. The bridge's distinctive feature is the use of round pipe in the top chords, end posts, and verticals instead of the usual rivet-connected channel plates and angle iron material. This bridge was erected on a township road near the small community of Fancher in Shelby County. It remained in service for 88 years, from 1895 until 1983, when it was reduced in width from 16 to 8 feet and moved 70 miles to this location for preservation by the Illinois Department of Transportation.
