ZUMBROTA, Minn. — There's something about covered bridges that captivates people, taking them back to a simpler and more romantic time.
This installment of our ongoing summer series KARE in the Air takes us to southeastern Minnesota and the town of Zumbrota, host to what is believed to be the only remaining example of a covered timber truss bridge in Minnesota.
Built more than 150 years ago in 1869, the Zumbrota Covered Bridge was installed over the Zumbro River in Goodhue County to get pedestrians (plus horses and the stagecoaches they were pulling) from one side to the other. It has been moved a few times over the years, and now spans the Zumbro only about 1,000 feet from its original location. It is listed on the National Historic Register and is the centerpiece of Covered Bridge Park, an 80-acre tribute to the past with other historic structures on site.
The park (and the covered bridge) serve as trailhead for the Goodhue Pioneer Regional Trail, a multi-modal trail that connects the cities of Goodhue and Red Wing.
While these bridges provide sentimental memories of days gone by, engineers will tell you their value is in form and function. An uncovered wooden bridge will last about 20 years, but if you cover and wrap the lattice trusses, it can last upwards of 100.
Here are some more factoids about the Zumbrota Covered Bridge, courtesy of The Historical Marker Database.
- Constructed over the Zumbro River in 1869, at a cost of $5,800.
- Original site was crossing the river at Highway 58. Served as part of a stagecoach route between St. Paul and Dubuque, Iowa.
- 120 feet long town lattice truss design plans by A.J. Thatcher, construction supervised by E.L. Kingsbury.
- Transported by horses to Goodhue County Fairgrounds in 1932, moved to present site in 1997.
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