Roseman Bridge



The wife and I spent a few days in West Des Moines, Iowa during the summer of 2022. We stayed in a nice and quiet state park that lies on the banks of the Raccoon River. While we were in the area, we spent a day touring the covered bridges nearby. One of those bridges, the Roseman Bridge, is allegedly haunted.

Bridges of Madison County

The Madison County, Iowa Chamber of Commerce promotes the covered bridges in the area which lie along the Covered Bridges Scenic Byway:

The Covered Bridges Scenic Byway offers visitors a journey into iconic America. Dotting the classic Iowa landscape are the famed covered bridges of Madison County, immortalized in the novel, movie and musical, The Bridges of Madison County. At the county’s center is an authentic and thriving historic town square. Tour the birthplace of legendary actor John Wayne and the only museum in the world dedicated to The Duke. Or explore the Iowa Quilt Museum and quilt shops in the town where Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting was created. Madison County was once home to George Stout, who rescued precious artworks during World War II, and it served as a starting place for famed horticulturist George Washington Carver. Experience life on the plains, and enjoy the abundant natural resources which made Madison County so desirable for settlers, at the Madison County Historical Complex or at one of the county’s many recreational parks.

So, you may have guessed that the movie Bridges of Madison County inspired our tour. Of course, I have never seen the film, but my wife is a fan. But it was easy for her to sell me on the idea of a bridges (and filming locations) tour when she told me the Roseman Bridge is haunted.

Denver Michaels at Roseman Bridge

Hauntings

According to legend, witnesses have experienced strange happenings at Roseman Bridge. Folks have reported phantom voices, apparitions, and an “eerie fog." Paranormal investigators have captured creepy EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) at the bridge.

An article on the Only in Your State website went into some area folklore about the Roseman Bridge:

According to the legend, a man escaped from the Madison County Jail and was being chased by the sheriff's posse straight into the bridge. The men went to either end of the bridge to catch him as he exited the bridge. Suddenly, the onlookers heard a bloodcurdling scream coming from the escaped convict. They went inside the bridge to investigate, but he was gone. It was as if he vanished into thin air.

Of course, these sorts of stories are next to impossible to verify, but they sure are fun!

For more on my travels, make sure you read the books in my Detours Into the Paranormal series. And for ghost stories, check out my book Haunted Shenandoah Valley.


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