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Roseman Covered Bridge — Winterset, Madison County

The red Roseman Covered Bridge in Madison County, Iowa, seen head-on, with white side rails, a wooden plank deck and autumn trees behind it.
Artwork FileMadison County · Iowa

Roseman Covered Bridge

SeenMay 2023

Built 1883 by H. P. Jones and G. K. Foster · Middle River, near Winterset

Photo: Ymblanter / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as published on Street Art Utopia. Resized, full frame.

The Roseman Covered Bridge crosses the Middle River southwest of Winterset in Madison County, Iowa. County crews under Harvey P. Jones and George K. Foster built it in 1883 for $2,930; it still stands where it was built, was bypassed in 1981, renovated in 1992 and appeared in the film The Bridges of Madison County. Source Source Checked

Seen May 2023 — CoveredBridges.net says its photos of the bridge, by Millard Farmer, were taken in May 2023. That is the gallery’s stated date, not a camera date. Source Checked

More photos

The red Roseman Covered Bridge seen from the side above the Middle River in Madison County, Iowa, with a yellow autumn tree on the left.
2017 Side view over the Middle RiverPhoto: Teddi Yaeger / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

💡 4 things to know

  1. A haunted bridgeMadison County Tourism says the bridge first gained fame as a “haunted bridge” in 1892, when a sheriff’s posse cornered an escaped prisoner there who was never found. Source Reported
  2. Made to look old for the filmFor the 1994 filming of The Bridges of Madison County, the crew worked to make the freshly renovated bridge look old, then repainted it afterwards, according to the county tourism office. Source Reported
  3. Wood over woodIowa DOT describes an all-wood Town lattice truss with a queenpost frame laid over it, on iron cylinder piers. Source Checked
  4. Carried traffic for nearly a centuryIt carried traffic until it was bypassed in 1981; the 1992 renovation cost $152,515 with a federal grant. Source Checked

📍 Where it is

Elderberry Avenue over the Middle River, about 8 miles southwest of Winterset, Madison County, Iowa, USA (2451 Elderberry Ave). Source Source Checked

Open in Maps

The map opens at the coordinates given on Wikimedia Commons; we have not checked Street View for it.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 19761 Sep

    National Register record · NPS

  2. 200628 Nov

    Photographed head-on · camera date

  3. 201722 Oct

    Side view over the river · camera date

  4. 2023May

    Photographed by Millard Farmer, per CoveredBridges.net

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Builders
Harvey P. Jones and George K. Foster Source Source Checked
Original cost
$2,930 Source Source Checked
Structure
Town lattice truss with a queenpost frame, on iron cylinder piers Source Checked
Length
104 feet (Madison County Tourism), 107 feet (CoveredBridges.net) or 225 feet (Iowa DOT); the sources disagree and we have not measured it Source Source Source Conflicting
Renovated
1992, for $152,515 Source Checked
Listed
National Register of Historic Places, 1976 Source Source Checked
Film
The Bridges of Madison County, filmed there in 1994 Source Checked

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Last checked: 13 November 2026 · How we verify art

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