The Last Covered Bridge in Wisconsin

The last covered bridge in Wisconsin is preserved in Covered Bridge Park, just outside of Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

This bridge was built in 1876 (in continuous use until 1962), using timber cut and squared in a mill in Baraboo, Wisconsin. There are no nails or bolts in the bridge – it was built using 3″ x 10″ planks in a lattice truss construction, with 2″ hardwood pins used to secure the planks.

And it has stayed virtually the same since it was first constructed, with the exception of a center abutment that was added in 1927 to handle the growing load created by automobiles and trucks.

An Uncovered Bridge

The covered bridge is not the only bridge in the park, however. There is a very picturesque uncovered bridge that crosses the Milwaukee River in the park.

Although not the main attraction, I found this bridge to offer more photo opportunities. This was taken for 1/80 second at f/8 (ISO 200) using my trusty Tamron 28-300 mm lens with the focal length set to 42 mm.

As you can see in the picture, the sun is coming in from the right, leaving the bridge somewhat in shadow. This picture probably works better late in the day, when the sun is low in the western sky.

Footbridge

One of my favorite pictures is this alternative perspective on the bridge. One can sense the movement across the bridge, not knowing what’s on the other side.

In this case, it was just the other side of the river – but you ever know what you’ll find if you don’t cross over.

But back to the covered bridge. Inside the bridge (which is just for joggers, bicycles, and pedestrians now), are graffiti and carvings that go back at least 30 years. I found that the carvings make for an interesting photographic study as well. So if you want to see more, click here to see inside the covered bridge.