Covered Bridges and The Duke!

Winterset, Iowa is a quaint, little place, whose downtown looks like a picture from another era. I love small towns, especially towns like this that are sprinkled with historical buildings, have a block or two of old shops, and are full of character. The Madison County seat, Winterset has two very notable things that add to its color: It’s home to several covered bridges and is the birthplace of John Wayne.

The movie, “The Bridges of Madison County,” starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep, was filmed here in 1995. Based on Robert James Waller’s 1992 novel of the same name, the story was about a four-day love affair between a National Geographic photographer (Robert Kincaid) and an Italian-American housewife (Francesca Johnson). The story takes place in 1965.

It was a really popular movie. I remember watching it multiple times and crying every one of those times. I can’t remember if I ever read the book, but I do know I had a couple of other books by the author in my collection at the time. I had a photographer friend who idolized the fictional Kincaid.

About the bridges: There were originally 19 covered bridges in Madison County, IA, and six of those remain. These bridges were covered to help preserve the very large flooring timbers that were expensive to replace. The sides and roofs of the bridges were made of less valuable wood, but protected the floors from exposure.

Of course, we visited all six of Madison County’s bridges, built between 1870 and 1884. First on our list was Cutler-Donahoe Covered Bridge (1870), which was within walking distance from our campsite. Moved to Winterset’s City Park in 1970, its 100th anniversary, the bridge is in the same park as our campground.

Our next stop was the Holliwell Covered Bridge (1880). The longest of the remaining bridges (122 feet), this was one of the bridges that appeared in the film.

The third bridge we visited, unfortunately, was recently the victim of arsonists. For some reason, three disturbed individuals decided to set a beautiful bridge ablaze. The devastating fire took place in April of this year, and the community is raising money to repair the damages. The criminals have been arrested and charged. The three fools are free on bond, awaiting trial.

Cedar Covered Bridge (1883) was already destroyed by arson in 2002 and an exact replica was built in 2004. The original Cedar Covered Bridge was on the cover of Waller’s novel. This is what we found when we visited:

We moved on to Hogback Covered Bridge (1884). This one was fun, because inside we found a guest book, and the girls and I signed it.

Roseman Covered Bridge (1883) was also featured in the movie, and it’s the most popular of the bridges. There’s even a gift shop across the street for this one. I think it was also my favorite, just because of the picturesque surroundings. There were lots of lush trees and beautiful flowers nearby.

The last bridge that we visited was the oldest of the six, Imes Covered Bridge (1870). This one was also moved from its original location.

Aside from the bridges, we were able to stop at one other place that was featured in the film, “The Bridges of Madison County.” The Northside Café, established in 1876, was the site of the scene where Robert Kincaid offers a stool to an ostracized woman in town.

On a completely different note, Winterset is also the birthplace of John Wayne. My grandfather, Paw Paw Fred, loved Westerns, and he loved John Wayne. I thought of him, as I toured the John Wayne Birthplace Museum and home. In more than 160 movies, the Duke is an American icon and represents the image of a cowboy in the minds of many.

Born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907, John Wayne lived in the Winterset four-room home for just the first couple of years of his life, before moving to another part of Iowa, and then to California. People can visit the house and the museum next door, which houses the largest number of John Wayne artifacts.

There were a couple of other fun things that we did while in Madison County. Right in Winterset’s City Park, where we stayed at the campground, we got to visit a 1926 limestone, castle-like tower. The girls really enjoyed this, as it made them think of Rapunzel.

Finally, we also took a little drive over to Pammel State Park, where the Middle River Ford lets people drive through low waters. Ray probably enjoyed this a little more than the rest of us, but it was pretty cool.