Bridges of Madison County & The Duke

Who said Iowa is just a bunch of cornfields?  Well, maybe they do have a lot of farms and rows and rows of corn all along the roads, but we discovered that there are many places to explore here.  Except for staying overnight in Des Plaines last month on our way to Wisconsin, we had never been to this state.  

The day was cool and only supposed to get up to the mid-60's.  But at least it was sunny!  Off we went to see the Madison County covered bridges and John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset, Iowa.   Out of 19 covered bridges in this area, only 6 remain.  Years ago, we had watched the movie "The Bridges of Madison County" with Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood.  It was time for us to go out and track down the places seen on the big screen.

Don trudged up the stairs of the historic building in St. Charles, now used as a welcome center.  It started out as a Presbyterian Church in 1855.  After most of its parishioners left, the church closed its doors.

A local lady bought the church and used it for storage, letting it fall into disrepair.  After her death, her relatives donated it to  the city of St. Charles.  It has been beautifully restored; a costly adventure.  The individual stained glass windows needed to be re-leaded at a cost $4,000 per window.

First bridge on our agenda was the  Imes Covered Bridge, located in a park near St. Charles.

Many of the bridges can only be reached by traveling down white gravel  county roads.  At least the county has clearly marked the roads where we needed to turn and we had printed maps of the area.  It was much easier to find the covered bridges than the lighthouses by Sturgeon Bay!

As we came down the hill, the Holliwell Bridge came into view.

Holliwell is the longest covered bridge, and measures 122 feet.   It was featured in the film and renovated in 1995 for $225,000.  There were other couples walking around the bridges also, probably on the same quest as we were.

Our next find was the Cutler-Donahoe Covered Bridge, which in located inside Winterset's large City Park.  For such a small town, it is amazing that they have such a huge park.  For those of you who have RVs, the city also runs a 34 site campground, which is quite nice and only $18 a night.  Perfect place to set your rig down for a day or two while you're in the area.

Below is the beautiful arched Stone Bridge, which is just  south of  the covered bridge.  It's where Francesca and Robert (played by Streep and Eastwood) went for their get away picnic. 

Also in the city park, but not included in the film, is the Clark Tower, erected in 1926.  In another 2 or 3

weeks we could have seen rolling hills of colored trees from the tower, but today they were mostly green, with tinges of yellow in spots.

I digress.  Time to get back on track and get with the program.  Below is the Roseman Covered Bridge, which is featured in both the book and the movie.  It's also referred to as the haunted bridge.  A sheriff's posse was trying to capture an escapee from the local jail.  It was dark as the posse split into two, and went into the bridge from both ends.  A scuffle ensued, and the person disappeared.  Locals often hear wild laughing coming from the bridge and assumed it is the ghost of the escapee.  That makes me glad we went here during the day!

We backtracked to the middle of town to tour John Wayne's birthplace.  The house is quite small, just a kitchen, living room, dining area and one small bedroom where the 13 lb. baby boy was born.  The physician who delivered him was a female doctor, very unusual for that time.  No one is allowed to take pictures of the inside of the house, which is filled with memorabilia.  One framed photo on the wall shows the Duke with a group of Masons in Tucson.  Other information stated that he became a member of the Masons in 1970 in Tucson, during the time Don and I were still living there.

Yep, that's me, looking at the new statue of the big guy.  He lived in this area until he was seven, before his parents moved to California.  When he was young, he delivered newspapers with his dog, Duke.  The firemen in the station only knew his dog's name, so they would say, "There goes little Duke and big Duke".   After that, it is said that John (his given name was Marion) asked his mother to start calling him Duke.  I'd say that was a wise decision.  Being a boy named Marion generated a lot of teasing, even in those days.  It reminded me of Johnny Cash's song "A Boy Named Sue".

Bridge No. five for us was the Cedar Covered Bridge.  It was the only one you can drive through with your vehicle.  Guess that is because it was destroyed by arson in Sept. 2002 and a replica dedicated two years later.  The original was built in 1883.  They did a great job on reconstruction.  You would never know that it was more than 100 years newer than the others unless you read the information sheet.

It was time for a coffee and snack break.  We headed back into town again and went into the Northside Cafe.  The counter inside was where Robert Kincaid offered Lucy Redfield a stool.  The restaurant has been in existence since 1876, and the top floor was formerly an opera house.  

During a recent renovation the cafe's owners got rid of the drop ceiling, and gave the inside a fresh coat of paint.  I think the exposure of the tin ceiling adds a lot of character.  The cashier was telling Don they have a customer who is 103 who comes in here and remembers being in the opera house.  Hope I can have that good of a memory if I become that old.   I have serious doubts about that.  There are times when I can't remember what we were doing the previous week!

Last, but not least, is the Hogback Covered Bridge, built in 1884.   It got its unusual name from the limestone ridge which is in the west end of the valley.  At least it wasn't named after someone's family.  If I had a family name of "Hogback", I would legally change it.  It is 97 feet long and in its original location.

We had driven a lot of dusty roads today, but we checked off everything on our "just-have-to-see" list!   If you are a John Wayne fan, or loved the "chick flick" movie about Madison County, this should be a stopping point the next time you're driving through Iowa.  Little pearls can be found among the cornfields!