Fire destroys Keokuk covered bridge, arson suspected

An arsonist has destroyed one of Iowa’s historic covered bridges. The only covered bridge in southeast Iowa’s Keokuk County burned to the ground last night. The fire broke out around 8:30 and Keokuk County Sheriff Ron George says the bridge is a total loss and he blames “suspicious activity.” George says there have been fires in the area before as they’ve caught people cooking meth, and he says that’s one way it could have started. The Delta Covered Bridge was located two and a half miles southeast of the small town of Delta, and a replica at the Keokuk County Historical Museum is all that remains. Keokuk County Historical Society treasurer Margaret Hollingsworth heard about the fire last night, .Hollingsworth says she was “devastated” to learn of the bridge’s destruction, as a member of the Historical Society had worked hard to restore the bridge, and was seeking a grant to finance the longterm project. The Delta Bridge was completed in 1869, and had been moved off the North Skunk River into a park. Hollingsworth says the bridge had been subject to vandalism over the years. It’s in a remote location, at the end of a dead-end road, and had been restricted to foot-traffic.Yesterday’s destruction of the covered bridge in southwest Iowa occurred one year to the day that one of the Bridges of Madison County — the Cedar Bridge — was destroyed by fire.