A Perfectly Serendipitous Day

A few days ago I started looking online to see what I could find out about my Great-Great Grandmother Malinda Jane Cecil Gravett's family; in other words, the Cecil's. I was quite surprised to find that her father, William (C or G) Cecil, born in Kentucky July 9, 1822....

and her mother, Nancy Agnes Davis Cecil, born November 10, 1821 in Tennessee, are buried in Nodaway Cemetery. "Oh, I wish I had known this when we were at the cemetery for Memorial Day, I would have looked for their graves," I lamented. Bud said, "Well, we could still go and look for them." Which is how we started out on our adventure today. We had no trouble locating William and Nancy's stone next to the drive in the back (East) side of the cemetery.

Close to which was this marker for Ellis and Sarah Ann Gravett. "Hm-mm, Malinda Cecil married George Gravett. Were Malinda and Sarah sisters and George and Ellis brothers?

There was also this marker for Clark W. (William?) Gravett, five-year-old son of E & S Gravett. And as it was next to the Cecil stone, it made sense that Sarah was probably their daughter and little Clark was their grandson. When I got back home, I was able to confirm that Malinda and Sarah were indeed sisters and George and Ellis were brothers.

On my list of 'things to do someday' has been to go and see the bow string arch bridge which once crossed the West Nodaway River near the old Smith Mill built by Samuel Smith in 1856 in Milford, later re-named Grant in Montgomery County. And since we weren't that far away from Grant......

and, since it was almost noon, and because I had read about "The Hayloft" in Grant, we stopped at this unique bar/cafe. The place is run single-handedly by Zelda. I had been under the impression there was a daily lunch special, but the menu was of the sandwich and fries ilk - which was fine by us - especially when we saw the prices! Can you believe a hamburger for $2.00; cheeseburger or tenderloin for only $2.25? We both had the tenderloin with a side of fries and a side of onion rings. All I've got to say is, "That was the best tenderloin I've had in a long time."
Every available wall space - even the ceiling - is covered in artifacts from the "good ole' days". There are stuffed animals, an ox yoke, metal Buddy L trucks, old signs, lamps made from wagon wheel hubs - it would have taken all day just to look at everything, but I was on a mission to find .....

that bow string arch bridge. I first read about this bridge a couple years ago when I was reading about a similar bridge in Poweshiek County - the McIntyre Bridge over the Skunk River. The history of these bridges, once found in Iowa by the hundreds, is something I found interesting. There are now only twenty of the bridges in Iowa - most of them on the Historic Register.
The article I read then (but can't find online now) told how this bridge once spanned the Nodaway River near the old mill in Grant, Iowa but had been replaced and subsequently moved to Pilot Grove County Park three miles west of Grant on County Road H14.

Pilot Grove Park is a lovely 23 acre park with camping and picnic facilities. The above bridge is one of three  which provide a way to cross the lake while walking the paved one-mile trail around the lake.

This bridge leads from the campgrounds over to the picnic area. There are several shelter houses sited amid mature, towering oak trees. I can easily imagine camping and/or picnicking at this park. Maybe next time we'll get our sandwiches and fries from The Hayloft 'to go' and bring them here to eat. It would have been nice to have a fishing pole along, too.

This bridge is known simply as 'The Nodaway River Bridge'. It was built in 1876 by Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Works of Leavenworth, KS. It is 70 feet long.
For someone who is deathly afraid of crossing bridges, this one doesn't bother me at all. It was worth the wait to finally see this graceful old bow string bridge.


Find an article about Iowa's Bow String Bridges at: http://www.iowadot.gov/ole/documents/bowstringBridges.pdf