It seems like cows get blamed for a lot of things, like starting the Great Chicago Fire. And Mrs. Jelinek’s herd of cows took the blame for collapsing the 1894 wooden bridge in Bayfield, WI which connected “Swede Hill” with the city’s “Catholic Hill”. After the collapse of the wooden bridge, a 230 foot iron bridge was built over the ravine and was completed on December 26, 1912 although it wasn’t open for use until the following October.
The iron bridge survived the 1942 flood and was in use for vehicles until 1968 and until 1982 for foot traffic. A restoration project in 1988, re-opened the bridge back up to pedestrian use and from the bridge, one can see Chequamegon Bay and under the bridge, the Gil Larson Nature Trail winds along the little creek at the bottom of the big ravine.
Bayfield’s Iconic Iron Bridge
