Roseman Covered Bridge Madison County Iowa - 1883rosemancvdbrdg168554
by Frank J Benz
Title
Roseman Covered Bridge Madison County Iowa - 1883rosemancvdbrdg168554
Artist
Frank J Benz
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Roseman Covered Bridge Built In Madison County Iowa
The Roseman Covered Bridge was constructed in 1883 and is one of the last two covered bridges built in Madison County, Iowa. Roseman Bridge is a covered timber town lattice truss design overlaid by a Queenpost Frame and was still in use until 1981 when it was bypassed by a new road about one thousand feet to the east. The bridge is 107 feet in length with an 88 foot approach to the south and a 33 foot approach to the north, is 15.4 feet wide and is still supported exclusively by its wooden truss structure. The piers that the truss structure sits upon have been replaced over the years with piers made of steel. The Roseman Bridge was strengthened by superimposing upon it a Queenpost Truss which created a structural redundancy and created a bridge that has remained in its original location while most all other timber truss bridges in Iowa have long since disappeared. The Roseman Bridge was made quite famous due to it being featured in both the novel and movie of The Bridges Of Madison County. The Roseman Bridge is listed on the National Register Of Historic Places. Madison County originally contained 19 covered bridges and over the years due floods, fires, progress or willful destruction only six are now left to visit and enjoy. It is sad to say that the bridges are still threatened by vandals and arsons. McBride Bridge was burned and never rebuilt in 1983, Cedar Bridge was burned in 2002 and was rebuilt to the same standards of construction and design as the original bridge. There were also attempts at arson on the Hogback and Roseman Bridges but fortunately no serious damage occurred as the fires were quickly discovered and put out. Of the six that remain five of them are listed on the National Register Of Historic Places. All of these bridges were covered by order of the Board of Supervisors to protect and preserve the very large floor timbers as they were much more expensive to replace than the wood used to cover the sides and roof of the bridges. Hogback Bridge built in 1884 at 97 feet, Cedar Bridge built in 1883 at 76 feet and Holliwell Bridge built in 1880 at 122 feet are all visually very similar to the Roseman Bridge with some differences to the design of the internal bracing. The Cutler Donahoe Bridge built in 1870 at 79 feet and the Imes Bridge built in 1870 at 81 feet are the other two remaining bridges in the county and are of a slightly different exterior styling in that their roof structures are of the pitched roof style.
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July 16th, 2016
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