Bridges of Madison County - Roseman

Movie poster with Roseman Bridge in the
background.  (internet image)

All the bridges in Madison County share a mantle of fame and show-biz, but the Roseman bridge is the main attraction.

The bridge is what brought photographer Robert Kincaid (played by Clint Eastwood) together with farm wife Francesca Johnson (played by Meryl Steep) when he stopped at the Johnson farm asking directions to the Roseman Bridge in The Bridges of Madison County.

On our way to the bridge, part of the drive was on Francesca Avenue.  Fitting.

If you know the story, you know that Francesca later leaves a note for the photographer.  He finds it and finds her - leading to a brief affair while the rest of the Johnson family (husband and sons) were at the Iowa State Fair.

Neither Bob or Francesca were on the scene the bright Saturday when we found the bridge over Middle River.

Roseman Bridge - SW of Winterset, Iowa. 11/2/19 (dwm)

An old farm house stands on the north side of the river where the old road dead-ends into a cul-de-sac to serve as a parking lot for bridge visitors.

The house has a gift shop (closed during our visit) just steps from the bridge and close to the visitors parking lot.

The bridge is a star around here - getting more attention than the other places where Eastwood and Streep filmed.

It is a beautiful movie set created in 1883 long before any nearby farmers were concerned about worldly photographers working for the National Geographic.

Wild grasses on the south shore create a compelling
foreground for the bridge over Middle River. 11/2/19 (dwm)

The winding Middle River carves its way through the country side.  It is especially pretty on the opposite shore from the farm house which allows easy access to the river (bottom photo).

This bridge was rehabbed in 1992, surviving floods and an arson attempt along the way.

The builder, Benton Jones, who worked on most of the Madison County bridges - used a belt and suspenders on this one.

According to the historical marker, Jones reinforced the Lattice Town Truss with a Queenpost truss creating a redundancy that made it possible to get a close-up in a major motion picture.

Looking southeast from land near the farm
house at the Roseman on a picture
perfect day. 11/2/2019 dwm photo

During our visit, there was another who hoped the bridge could launch her career... standing in front of small camera on the bridge with the south portal in the background she sang the first line of a pop song.  She sang it again and again and again.

I eventually heard her get through a few more lines - not sure if she forgot the words or if conditions weren't right for her 15 minutes.

Nearly 140 years after it took grain to market, the bridge is in service as others use it seeking commercial success.

Roseman Covered Bridge
Built:  1883
Style: Town Lattice truss with Queenpost truss
Length:  225 feet, longest span 104 feet over Middle River

Follow this link for more bridges of Madison County and the upper Midwest.

Roseman Bridge over Middle River - Madison County, Iowa.             11/2/2019    dwm photo