Covered Bridges in Madison County

With a rental car on hand from a business trip and unable to return the car until Monday, due to the rental agency being closed on Sunday, I took advantage of the situation and visited the covered bridges in Madison County. Whether the trip is worthwhile depends upon a person’s interests.

Madison County may have had the greatest density of covered bridges in the United States with 19 such structures once crossing the county’s waterways. The massive alteration of the land in Iowa and the frequency of creeks and rivers no doubt encouraged the building of many bridges. The pioneer-era county government contributed to history, and saved taxpayers’ money, by having the bridges covered in order to protect the more expensive planking on the roadway of the bridges.

If you love “The Bridges of Madison County,” either the book or the movie, you may want to visit the bridges identified in the story. Possibly because of attention drawn to the bridges by the story, or maybe just because the bridges are in sparsely-populated countryside, arson became a problem. As a result, the six remaining bridges have video cameras recording visitors. Arson destroyed the Cedar bridge in 2002, but a replica was built in 2004. This modern reproduction is the only covered bridge that is open to vehicles.

I took sketch pads and pencils with me but I needed a chair and sunscreen, too. Built in 1870, the Imes is the oldest bridge. It is now in a park in St. Charles. This was the most pleasant place to sit and draw thanks to a picnic table and shade. It is less than a mile from Exit 52 on I-35 and has a gift shop nearby.

The Imes and the Cutler-Donahoe are the two bridges with pitched roofs. I found the Imes to be prettier, but the Cutler-Donahoe is just a few blocks from the birthplace of John Wayne. If you are in Winterset to honor The Duke, to see the courthouse built of local limestone, or for another reason,
you easily can stop at the bridge in South Park. Winterset, the county seat of Madison County is about 30 miles from Des Moines.

The Roseman, Hogback, and Holliwell bridges are all at their original sites. These were my favorite because I enjoy rivers and observing how nature and history mix. Roseman has a gift shop. Hogback is nearest to I-80 (via Hwy. 169) and a stone school house. Holliwell, at 122 feet, is the longest bridge.

Publicity material for the bridges barely mentions the bridges’ design and construction nor did I not note anything particular in those areas, but I am neither a carpenter nor an engineer. Although, given the number of bridges throughout the United States in need of repair, I wondered if it might not be time for PBS to do a series called “This Old Bridge.”

Guest Author: M.R. Field is editor of Leading Voices: Iowa.