Black Bridge

The Dehmel Road Black Bridge, a 1907 era iron trestle bridge, was moved from its original site (west of St. Lorenz Lutheran Church) in 1982 when Tiny Zehnder purchased it from the Saginaw County Road Commission for $1. The bridge was being replaced by a new structure. Because the Black Bridge was listed on the National Historical Bridges Register it required that any new owner had to relocate the bridge, not destroy it.

Tiny Zehnder, untiring in his efforts to preserve history and a bridge aficionado, underwrote the costs to have the bridge moved to the family farm on Townline Road. The bridge remained there for nearly 20 years until it was relocated to its new location on the southern edge of the Bavarian Inn's Heritage Farm.

The iron trestle bridge was moved from the west side of Townline Road to the east side in September, 2002, by Wobig Construction Company under the guidance of R.C. Engineering. Local contractor, Wm. Bronner & Son recently refitted the decking on the 150-foot long span with 5 1/2-inch thick Douglas Fir.

The straightaway bridge that once spanned the Cass River now straddles the Dead Creek that runs east and west through the Heritage Farm property. The working bridge will allow cars, the Farm's stagecoach, carriages and other vehicles to travel over Dead Creek to the Farm.

At its new site the Black Bridge will provide easy access from the Farm's "Grandma's Haus" to the historic one-room schoolhouse moved to the site in 2000.

Black Bridge Facts Constructed in 1907 by Joliet Bridge and Iron Company in Joliet, Illinois to replace a wooden bridge that was erected across the Cass River by early Frankenmuth settlers before the turn of the 19th century. Total length: 150 feet Horizontal clearance: 16 feet Vertical clearance: 14 feet Number of spans: 1 Depth of water: Estimated 1-3 feet