Cedar Covered Bridge Is number 3 in the series. Cedar Covered Bridge was one of the six remaining covered bridges of Madison County, Iowa. 76 feet long, Cedar was built in 1883 by Benton Jones over Cedar creek north of the county seat of Winterset on what is now U.S. Highway 169. Cedar (also known as the Casper bridge) was one of 19 original covered bridges built in Madison County. The bridges were covered by order of the County Board of Supervisors to help preserve the large flooring timbers, which were more expensive to replace than the lumber used to cover the bridge sides and roof. In 1921, Cedar was moved by steam-powered tractor to its present location over the same creek, about 1.3 miles to the east. A small county park is at the site, with a picnic area and gazebo. Cedar bridge is the last bridge open to vehicles. It was restored in 1998 with meticulous attention to historic detail at a cost of $128,073. Cedar covered bridge was destroyed by a fire set by an unknown arsonist on the evening of September 3, 2002. Although the original Cedar bridge and its 119-year history can certainly never be replaced, residents feel that rebuilding the bridge with the same methods and materials used in its original construction is a positive response from the community to this cowardly act. We want to make sure future generations remember this wonderful old structure. Unknown Arsonist is a nice way to put a name on the cowered that felt the need to burn this beautiful peace of history to the ground. I will not say what I call him or her here due to the Ladies on Rendo. So what ever is in your imagination probably isn’t close to what I fell. I applauded the residence of Madison county for rebuilding this gem, you can still fell the history because the bridge was rebuilt based on old blueprints and photos of the original bridge, and the work was meticulous and as authentic to the original construction methods as possible, an awesome and wonderful bridge to visit. If you didn’t know the bridge had burned you would thing it was one of the remaining 6, past down for 119 years for us to enjoy! Just a side note: I’ve read the book and watched the movie; the Cedar Covered Bridge played a bigger part in the book than in the movie. In addition, it’s the bridge featured on the cover of the book.