The hogback bridge is just one of the bridges that made Madison County famous/Photo courtesy Madison County Development Group

Movie bridges and John Wayne make Madison County stand out

By B.J. Smith

If you like wooded hills and gentle streams, if you appreciate limestone bluffs, abundant wildlife and fertile fields, Madison County is your kind of place. Oh, and you may have heard about the bridges, as in The Bridges of Madison County – the novel, the movie and the Covered Bridge Festival.

Madison County’s six historic covered bridges may be among the nation’s most widely recognized landmarks, thanks to author Robert James Waller, Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. For sure, the county’s most widely known native son was Marion Robert Morrison, who was born here in Winterset and later became movie star John Wayne. More than 10,000 people visit “the Duke’s” birthplace each year.

The Madison County Historical Complex includes numerous buildings and a comprehensive collection of artifacts on 18 acres. Winterset’s sprawling city park includes Clark’s Tower, a three-story limestone structure that gives visitors a scenic view of the Middle River valley. Other notable structures worth a visit include the Madison County Courthouse, topped by a stately dome 122 feet high, and the North River Stone Schoolhouse, which was built in 1874.

Madison County’s friendly people use proceeds of the annual Covered Bridge Festival to fund Community Betterment Grants to help both for-profit businesses and nonprofit organizations fund infrastructure improvements, beautification projects and renovations. Their dedication to growth and progress made Madison County among the state’s fastest-growing counties from year to year. In fact, it’s one of Iowa’s few growing counties that aren’t dominated by a big metropolitan area.

Large employers include Winterset Community Schools, Madison County Health Care System, Grip-Tite Manufacturing, Mahle Filter Systems and Merchandising Frontiers Inc.

Sources: Wayne Martens, Chief Executive Officer, Madison County Development Group; Brenda Hollingsworth, Executive Director, Madison County Chamber of Commerce.

Cities in Madison County

Bevington pop. 58
Earlham pop. 1298
East Peru pop. 153
Macksburg pop. 142
Patterson pop. 126
St. Charles pop. 619
Truro pop. 427
Winterset pop. 4768

Source: Iowa League of Cities