Bridges of Madison County - Cedar

The intrepid Cedar Bridge.  11/2/2019 dwm photo

Of all the Madison County covered bridges - the Cedar bridge may have the roughest past.

It was originally built in 1883 over Cedar Creek.  Locals moved it to another location over the same stream in 1921.

After a star-turn in the movie - it was refurbished.  Arsonists burned it down in 2002.

A replacement was in place by 2004.  That one was burned down in 2017.  Cedar Creek Bridge 3.0 opened in 2019.

Damage left from the 2017 fire can
be seen on the adjacent steps.
11/2/2019 dwm photo

The bridges are a vital part of the Madison county economy, so when it was rebuilt cameras and fire detection and suppression tools were included (see the yellow tubes hanging from ceiling in top left photo).

I acknowledge that bridges may not be everyone's favorite thing, but can't understand the motivation to burn them down.  It's sad.

The novel features this bridge on the cover and is the location where Francesca meets Robert Kincaid to take pictures.

Cedar bridge over Cedar Creek.  11/2/2019 (dwm)

I'm guessing there were fewer trees upstream at the time, or she had a machete to hack through the undergrowth.

Since Francesca didn't make it on my trip, I walked around the park to get shots from as many angles as possible.

Most interesting was the steps from the park to the bridge on the north end where the arson's flames left their mark.

I hope the charred wood and new bridge last a very long time.

The Cedar bridge
11/2/19 (dwm)

Cedar Covered Bridge

Built: 1883, moved 1921, burned 2002, rebuilt 2004, burned 2017, rebuilt 2019
Style: Covered Town Lattice through truss
Length: 129 feet over Cedar Creek

You can see other bridges of Madison county and others in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.