Near Winterset in Madison County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Roseman Covered Bridge

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 18, 2014

1. Roseman Covered Bridge Marker

Inscription. Built: 1883
By: Benton Jones & G.K. Foster
Type: Covered Timber Town Lattice Truss
overlaid by a Queenpost Frame
Size: 225 feet (104 ft truss with an 88 ft
approach to the south and a 33 ft approach
to the north) x 15.4 feet wide

The two last covered bridges built in Madison County were the Roseman and Cedar Bridges over the Middle and North Rivers, respectively. Both approved by the Board of Supervisors in 1877, they were built in succession in 1883 by Jones and Foster. The Roseman Bridge (also called the Oak Grovers Bridge) cost just $2,930 to build. It carried traffic for almost a hundred years before it was bypassed by the bridge to the east in 1981.

Benton Jones, who was probably responsible for the design of the Roseman Bridge, strengthened the truss further by superimposing upon it a Queenpost truss, thus creating a structural redundancy. The result is a bridge that has stood in place while almost all of the other timber trusses in Iowa have since been demolished.

Erected 2012 by Glenna Finney in honor of Thomas E. Smith Family.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Bridges & Viaducts

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. In addition, it is included in the Covered Bridges, and the National Register of Historic Places series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1883.

Location. 41° 17.585′ N, 94° 9′ W. Marker is near Winterset, Iowa, in Madison County. Marker is on Elderberry Avenue south of Roseman Bridge Road, on the right when traveling south. Marker is at the end of the road, at the northwest approach to the bridge, and about six miles WSW of Winterset. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2451 Elderberry Avenue, Winterset IA 50273, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Middle River Water Trail (here, next to this marker); Carnegie Building (approx. 7½ miles away); George Leslie Stout (approx. 7.6 miles away); 102 West Court Avenue (approx. 7.6 miles away); 102 North 1st Avenue (approx. 7.6 miles away); 106 North 1st Avenue (approx. 7.6 miles away); 108 North 1st Avenue (approx. 7.6 miles away); 52 Court Avenue (approx. 7.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Winterset.

Regarding Roseman Covered Bridge. National Register ) (76000792Statement of Significance:

H.P. Jones constructed a number of covered bridges in the Winterset region.

Roseman Covered Bridge and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 18, 2014

2. Roseman Covered Bridge and Marker

Looking southeast from Elderberry Avenue parking lot

Although his structures were based upon the Town lattice plan popular in New England, Jones added details uniquely his own. Richard S. Allen (1970) writes (pp. 101-4): "For substructure he used caisson piers, and he buttressed the sides of his spans with taut guy rods attached to protruding floor beams. Inside, his single-web lattices were usually given the extra reinforcement of auxiliary arches, queen posts, or a com,ination of the two. Jones' most startling innovation was the virtual elimination of the conventional highpitched roof. His bridges are tightly weather-boarded to the eaves, and their roofs have only a very slight pitch...These square tubular covered bridges in Iowa have a unique appearance duplicated only in a few other places in the world".

Covered bridges are an endangered species throughout the United States, and merit preservation everywhere as examples of 19th century utilitarian concepts. A bridge by Jones, with its combination of tradition and innovation in engineering, is if possible even more deserving of protection.

Also see . . .
1. Movie The Bridges of Madison County (1995) at IMDb. (Submitted on March 19, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Roseman Covered Bridge National Register Nomination Form. (Submitted on November 22, 2023, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)

Roseman Covered Bridge Trusswork image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 18, 2014

3. Roseman Covered Bridge Trusswork

Roseman Covered Bridge Trusswork Detail image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 18, 2014

4. Roseman Covered Bridge Trusswork Detail

Roseman Covered Bridge NW Entrance image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 18, 2014

5. Roseman Covered Bridge NW Entrance

Roseman Covered Bridge image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 18, 2014

6. Roseman Covered Bridge

Roseman Covered Bridge Graffiti image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 18, 2014

7. Roseman Covered Bridge Graffiti

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., February 18, 2014

8. Roseman Covered Bridge

Looking north

Roseman Covered Bridge image. Click for more information.

via NPS, unknown

9. Roseman Covered Bridge

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form
at NPGallery Digital Asset Management System
Click for more information.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 22, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 19, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 650 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on March 19, 2014, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 9. submitted on April 16, 2023, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.