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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Cedar or Casper (original location), Madison County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: IA/15-61-03x
County: Madison County
Township: Douglas-Union
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Cedar or Casper (original location)
Crosses: Cedar Creek
Truss type: Town
Spans: 1
Length: 76'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1883
Builder: Harvey Pierce Jones and George K. Foster
When Lost: 1921
Cause: Moved
Latitude: N41 21.485
Longitude: W094 00.805
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: North-northeast of Winterset. IA92 east 0.5 miles from jct with US169 on the north side of Winterset, north on Cedar Bridge Rd. 1.8 miles to the bridge.

Cedar or Casper Bridge, Union, Madison County, IA Built 1883 Arson 3 Sep 2002
Tom and Linda Burns Photo, August 1995

Cedar or Casper Bridge, Union, Madison County, IA Built 1883 (M1921-22) Arson 3 Sep 2002
Jeanne Hickam Photo, NSPCB Archives

Comments:
The first Cedar covered bridge was built in 1883 by Harvey P. Jones and George K. Foster. It was Madison County's last covered bridge open to vehicles. It was originally built over Cedar Creek north of Winterset. Per Mrs. Fred Hartsook's article, the bridge was on the DeSoto Road (now route 169) before being moved to a new location over the same creek in 1921. The Winterset Chamber of Commerce has an image of the bridge being moved by a steam tractor. It was bypassed in 1964. In Robert James Waller's novel, The Bridges of Madison County, Cedar Bridge is where Francesca Johnson goes to meet Robert Kincaid to help him take photographs. Cedar is also the bridge on the novel’s cover. The bridge was renovated in 1998 at a cost of $128,073. It was destroyed by an arsonist on September 3, 2002. A replica of the original bridge was built from the original plans using authentic materials and methods by Herberger Construction Company. The second bridge was dedicated on October 9, 2004. That one was lost to arson on April 15, 2017. The third incarnation of the bridge was built in 2019 and was opened to the public during the 50th Madison County Covered Bridge Festival on October 12, 2019.

Sources:
HAER IA-95 - HAER report on the Roseman Bridge by Lola Bennett in 2002
Hartsook, Mrs. Fred, Winterset Madisonian, Interesting History Behind Covered Bridges in County, June 18, 1956.
http://madisoncounty.com/index.php?page=the-bridges