Year constructed: 1878
Alternate name: Bowstring Through Arch-Truss
Bridge type: Steel Continuous Welded I-Girder w/Floorbeams
National Register of Historic Places status: Eligible
Length: Unknown
Width: Unknown
Spans: 1
Jurisdiction: Winneshiek County Conservation Board
Location: 235th Street over an unnamed tributary of the Upper Iowa River, 1.5 miles east of Decorah, north of Iowa 9, Section 23, T98N-R8W
Details
Crossing the Upper Iowa River near Decorah, the Freeport Bridge was constructed in 1879 and measures 156 feet in length. It is one of four bowstring arch bridges in Winneshiek County, and is the second longest existing in the country. The Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio built the bridge.
In its extensive dealings with the Wrought Iron Bridge Company, Winneshiek County was simply following a regional trend. In the 1870s, the Ohio-based bridge company became one of the largest fabricators in America, and its president, David Hammond, one of the country's most prolific bridge innovators. The counties and municipalities of Iowa were among WIBCo's best customers. Winneshiek County's almost exclusive relationship with WIBCo was atypical but the Ohio giant was extremely active in the region at this time.
Winneshiek County continued to deal almost exclusively with WIBCos throughout the remainder of the 1870s, erecting several more bowstrings at rural crossings of the Turkey and Upper Iowa Rivers. The Freeport Bridge has been moved from its abutments and now is located in Trout Run Park in Decorah. [adapted from Crow-Dolby and Fraser 1992].