These two Covered Bridges of Madison County in Iowa were made famous by the 1995 Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep movie of the same name, an American romantic drama film based on the 1992 bestselling novel by Robert James Waller.

The film is set in 1965, featuring Italian war bride, Francesca Johnson, who lives with her husband and two children on their Iowa farm. That year she meets National Geographic photojournalist, Robert Kincaid, who comes to Madison County to photograph its historic covered bridges. With Francesca's family away for a short trip, the couple have an intense, four-day love affair. The film earned $182 million worldwide and was well-received by critics. Streep was nominated in 1996 for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

In the movie, Robert arrives at the Johnson farmhouse and asks Francesca for directions to the Roseman Covered Bridge. The bridges seen in the movie are the Roseman Bridge, built in 1883, where his ashes are scattered, and where Francesca requested her ashes to also be scattered, plus Holliwell Bridge over Middle River, southeast of Winterset, where the pair meet up after the visit to the town.

After the success of the book and the movie, a musical adaptation was also made. The Bridges of Madison County was adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical. Music and lyrics were by Jason Robert Brown and a book by Marsha Norman, directed by Bartlett Sher. The cast included Elena Shaddow as Francesca and Steven Pasquale as Robert Kincaid. Previews of the musical on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre began on January 17, 2014.

Photographed in May, 2023.