| We slid to the west of
Des Moines to the tiny town of Winterset, about 20 miles to the south west.
This is the birthplace (in 1907) of Marion Robert Morrison, better known as
John Wayne. The house next door is a gift shop and they give tours around
the house. His parents only rented it, moved 15 miles away when he was very
young, and out to California when he was only seven. |  |
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But it is one of the town's two claims to fame and the family have been
supportive. They donated this larger than life bronze in a typical pose. We
went on the tour which is interesting but it is a tiny house and you
aren't allowed to take photographs. |
| So the best you get is a
cardboard cutout. You can of course buy all sorts of trinkets and a small
number of his over 250 films. |  |
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But the crab apple in flower outside the house was glorious, as was the
weather. We are beginning to feel summer is coming. |
| We paused in the town
centre to look at the court house built in 1876 from native limestone and
black walnut. Quite a magnificent building which would do justice to a town
ten times the size but seems strangely out of place in what we would call a
village. |  |
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The other claim to fame of the town is that it is the centre of Madison
county and its covered bridges made famous by Clint Eastwood and Meryl
Streep in their wonderful film 'The Bridges of Madison County' after the
novel of the same name by Robert James Waller. This is the Cedar Bridge. This is a replica built in 2004 after the original was
destroyed by arson in 2002. Francesca's house was also damaged by fire and
so is now no longer open to visitors. |
| There were 19 such
bridges in the area but only five originals remain. Most were built in the
1880s by Benton Jones, many have subsequently been moved and a number
refurbished or even rebuilt since the film. The number of tourists who
continue to come to the area has turned them into a significant
tourist attraction. This is the Hogback Bridge, four miles down a gravel
road which is the norm in this part of Iowa once you leave the main routes. |  |
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The woodwork bracing the bridges is very similar with subtle curves
providing the bracing. The bridges were originally covered to protect the roadbed from
freezing in the winter, since it is cheaper to replace the roof than the
more substantial road bed timbers. |
| Whilst they all look
roughly the same, there are subtle differences in the bracing. |  |
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The curved main beams here are on the Holliwell Bridge. Even though they
were mostly refurbished in the last ten years, many have since been defaced
with graffiti which is a shame. |
| Peaceful rivers flow
underneath all except the Cutler-Donahoe bridge which was re-erected in the
Winterset city park in 1970 without any water underneath. |  |
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This is the Holliwell bridge which was one of the main locations used in the
film. At 122ft, it is the longest bridge and was renovated in 1995 at a cost
of $225,000. |
| The last one we visited
was the Roseman bridge, it played the prominent role in both the film and the
book. It has been in the same location since it was built. Today there is a
small store adjacent selling memorabilia.
Since 1970 there has been a festival in October which celebrates the
bridges and attracts thousands of visitors to the area. |  |
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