The 155-year-old covered bridge in Minnesota contains numerous messages of love

ZUMBROTA, Minn. — It is one of the few covered bridges left in the Midwest and has seen a lot of traffic over the years.

“When you walk in here, you feel the history. You feel things that happened here,” said Leah Wichmann Hinz of Zumbrota.

Every small town has something that brings people together. For Zumbrota it is a covered bridge. Most of the wood inside is original, from 155 years ago.

“When you drive by, you see people walking by all the time. You just don’t see things like this anymore,” Hinz said.

Built out of necessity, it was a way for people to come to town to trade goods. Historian Wayne Radke says it was so structurally sound that no center pillar was initially needed to hold it up.

“The first thing that makes it unique is the construction and it’s a type of construction called a city grid,” Radke said. “It’s a maze of intricate designs that distribute the weight excellently.”

Roofs were placed on the bridges to protect the wood from the elements. But in winter they even shoveled snow onto the bridge so that horse sleighs had something to travel with.

The covered bridge could accommodate people, horses and Model Ts. Often all at the same time. And there was even a speed limit. But eventually the traffic became too busy.

“As usual, at that moment the question arose: what to do with it,” Radke said.

While bridges aren’t supposed to move, this one did: four different times over the decades before finally settling 100 yards from its original location over the Zumbro River.

At one point the fairgrounds was his home, but not everyone agreed with that move.

“The people in town who didn’t support that deal were called ‘chews.’ You interpret that however you want. They didn’t like each other,” Radke said.

That’s all water under the bridge. Inside you will find initials and even love messages; memories ingrained in wood. Many have been there since President Grant was in office.

Today the building is the epicenter of city celebrations and festivals. And it also serves as a 120-foot metaphor. No matter how dark things get here, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

“We try to share a lot of the little stories and hopefully that will make people have a warm place in their hearts for the bridge,” Radke said.

A few years ago, a snowstorm caused the bridge’s roof to collapse, and it took about a year to repair it. Historians call this the oldest historic covered bridge in the state and it is on the National Register of Historic Places. Zumbrota hosts a Covered Bridge Festival every September.