My Corner Online

Old Appleton Bridge

We visited the Old Appleton Bridge on October 18, 2018. The bridge sits along Apple Creek and the boundary line between Cape Girardeau County and Perry County follows Apple Creek. It is a favorite place for photographers to visit, but I could just sit there with a good book too! It is maintained by the National Park Service.

The place is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was built in 1879. It is the only iron bridge of its kind, being a Pratt Truss, in Missouri still in its original location. In the 1790's, the Shawnee Native Americans discovered Apple Creek and lived here as one of the largest tribal settlements known as La Grande Village Sauvage in Perry County. Lewis and Clark wrote in their 1804 journal about meeting and trading with the Native Americans on the Apple Creek. They took an adventure trip up tributaries of the Mississippi River to discover this place.