Winterset, IA

by Lori Erickson

As a wedding planner in Winterset, Iowa, (pop. 4,768) Pat Nelson has seen more than 250 couples walk down the aisle—or to be more precise, across a bridge. That’s because Nelson helps lovers fulfill their dream of being married in the romantic covered bridges of Madison County.

Along the way she’s collected dozens of poignant and funny stories, including one about a couple who decided, on the spur of the moment, they wanted to be married on Roseman Bridge, 10 miles southwest of Winterset. As proof that impulsiveness runs in the family, when the bride’s mother arrived for the ceremony, she got so swept up in the moment that she and her fiancé decided to tie the knot on the bridge the same day.

“The bridges are magic places,” Nelson says. “Even after 40 years of living among them, I’m still charmed by their serenity and beauty.”

While the picturesque bridges have a place in the hearts of people around the world, they haven’t always been so universally beloved. Built in the 1870s and 1880s, 19 bridges, built with roofs and sides to preserve their wooden floor timbers from weather, once graced the back roads of Madison County. Through the years some people came to view them as a nuisance, particularly farmers who found it difficult to get their tractors and combines across. Neglect and arson gradually reduced their numbers to six.

But some locals eventually came to realize what treasures the bridges were, and in 1970 the first Madison County Covered Bridge Festival was held to help raise money for the remaining bridges’ upkeep and restoration, a tradition still going strong. (This year’s event, featuring bus tours to the bridges, food booths, old-time craft demonstrations, and a parade, is scheduled Oct. 13-14.)

Then came a piece of pure serendipity: In 1992, author Robert James Waller set his first novel in the area, penning a love story that spent nearly 150 weeks on the best-seller list and later became a Hollywood movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. The Bridges of Madison County became a worldwide phenomenon from Tokyo to Helsinki.

Phyllis Kaldenberg, who coordinates and leads bus tours of the area, believes Madison County’s love for its covered bridges is just one local aspect of people’s appreciation for the past. “Many homes in the county are full of beautiful antiques, and we have a very active historical society,” she says. “We’re a community that knows the importance of preserving our history.”

That includes local legends, says Kaldenberg, who relishes the story of the Roseman Bridge ghost. “In 1892, an outlaw escaped from jail, and a posse had him cornered on the bridge,” she says. “They broke into two groups and came at him from both sides, only to watch him rise up through the roof and disappear. He was never seen again, but to this day some folks say you can hear his footsteps and laughter on the bridge.”

The bridges aren’t the town’s only claim to fame. Actor John Wayne was born in Winterset in 1907, and his modest home (now open to the public) is filled with movie memorabilia and personal effects. Another source of pride is the Madison County Historical Complex, which preserves the area’s pioneer past, including one of the few outhouses on the National Register of Historic Places.

Despite its brush with Hollywood fame, Winterset remains true to its rural roots. Its town square, dominated by the Madison County Courthouse, serves as the busy center of community life. Agriculture is the county’s top industry, though tourism and manufacturing are important as well.

And while some of the national interest in the bridges of Madison County has faded, local residents continue to cherish the unique landmarks in their midst. Just ask the couples who dance their first waltz as newlyweds across their wide timbers, the married folk who stroll across them at sunset, and the young lovers who still carve their initials on their interiors. They all know that the bridges of Madison County are indeed magical places.

Lori Erickson is a freelance writer from Iowa City, Iowa.

first appeared: 9/16/2001