William "Tiny" Zehnder loved historic bridges. He spent $1.1 million to build an impressive replica covered bridge leading from the town's Main Street to Zehnder's Bavarian Inn resort complex in 1980, so with a price tag of just a dollar, he obviously couldn't pass up a deal to purchase a vintage iron truss span from the Saginaw County Road Commission in 1982.
Of course, Tiny Zehnder invested a few additional dollars to move and restore the Dehmel Road Bridge at his family farm near downtown Frankenmuth.
The Dehmel Road Bridge, or the "Black Bridge" as many residents know it, spanned the Cass River less than a mile west of Frankenmuth. Built in 1907 by the Joliet Bridge and Iron Company of Joliet, Illinois, it replaced a wooden bridge dating from 1883 on Dehmel Road.
The iron, Pratt truss-style bridge was 181 feet long, including a 30-foot pony truss span (with side trusses not connected by cross braces at the top).
In 1982, the county road commission replaced the old iron bridge with a modern concrete span, so Zehnder plunked down his dollar and moved the Black Bridge a couple miles east to his family farm on Townline Road. It remained there for nearly 20 years before moving across the farm to its present site atop new concrete abutments and spanning the shallow Dead Creek at the farm's southern edge.
In 2002, Zehnder had the decking of the now 151-foot-long bridge (minus the original pony truss portion of the span) refitted with 5 1/2-inch thick Douglas Fir, allowing it to be a working bridge to carry cars, carriages and other vehicles across the creek to the farm.
The Black Bridge still sports its original lattice railings and decorative iron work atop the portal braces at either end.
The Black Bridge is just east of M-83, and Tiny Zehnder restored a similar iron truss bridge nearby, the Beyer Road Bridge. The Beyer Road Bridge includes its pony truss span, but construction on M-83 and traffic back-ups during our visit that made it difficult to get to the Black Bridge made getting to the Beyer Road Bridge pretty much impossible. So, that leaves something new to see next time we're up in Frankenmuth!
Tiny Zehnder died in 2006, but the farm still opens seasonally to visitors with attractions like a petting zoo, horse-drawn wagon tours, and other displays and programs honoring the agricultural history of the area.
The farm wasn't open when we visited, but we were still able to view the bridge and check out a one-room schoolhouse on the property.
Tiny Zehnder moved the Hart school to the farm in 2000. The school, built between 1855 and 1860 east of Frankenmuth at Hart's Corners, served students from first through eighth grades until 1921.
We weren't able to go inside of the school, but we could peer inside the windows and see some of the period furnishings like a cast-iron stove, blackboards, and antique school desks.
Check previous Midwest Guest stories Frankenmuth celebrates its German heritage year round about the town's history or Zehnder's Holz Brücke in Frankenmuth, Michigan, to learn about Tiny Zehnder's wooden covered bridge.
Want to learn more about Frankenmuth's history? Check out Frankenmuth (Images of America) by the Frankenmuth Historical Association.
Love Michigan's bridges? Check out Historic Highway Bridges of Michigan by Charles K. Hyde. The book is a fascinating look at historically significant highway bridges in the state ranging from well known spans like the Mackinac Bridge to lesser known bridges of all construction types. I'm love bridges fan, so I had to buy this book. Plus, I took a couple of classes from Professor Hyde years ago at Wayne State University!
© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved
I love the detail of this post, Dominique. So fun to hear to story behind the landmark!
Posted by: Bridget Smith | January 07, 2011 at 12:44 PM
A bridge for a dollar?! Sounds like a good deal to me!
I love the picture of the one-room schoolhouse. We visited one this past fall in Fredericksburg, Texas. There are some others in the Texas Hill Country, but we haven't gotten to them yet. Thanks for reminding me it's something I want to do!
Posted by: Sarah V. | January 10, 2011 at 07:01 AM
Bridget-Thanks for stopping by! I'm especially fascinated by bridges, so it was fun to find out more about this one.
Sarah-Sounds like a bargain, doesn't it...until you find out how much people spend moving and renovating the purchases :lol:
Posted by: Dominique King | January 10, 2011 at 07:32 AM