Fire hits famous house from movie in Madison County

Another historic landmark in southwest Iowa’s Madison County was damaged by fire early this morning. The century-old home known as Francesca’s House near Winterset, made famous in the movie “The Bridges of Madison County,” caught fire about dawn. One corner of the two-story wood-frame home is scorched and flames were coming out the roof, but fire crews from four surrounding towns responded and doused the blaze. A screen was reportedly torn off a door, indicating possible vandalism, and the Norwalk fire chief says the cause of the fire is suspicious. The home was not occupied but was a tourist attraction for loyal fans of the film and would have been a popular stop on next weekend’s scheduled covered bridge festival. One of Madison County’s historic covered bridges was torched by an arsonist a year ago, while another covered bridge burned in southeast Iowa’s Keokuk County last month. No arrests have been made in any of the cases.