Old Appleton bridge

A project to restore a bridge across Apple Creek is helping bring the town together. Two decades after a flash flood tore apart Old Appleton's historic bridge, work is beginning on its restoration.

Many of the town's 82 residents also would like to see the bridge placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Once the bridge is restored, it could be the oldest wrought-iron span in the state.

The bridge was originally built in 1879 at a cost of $2,500.

The $519,000 restoration project has a much greater price tag and includes repairing the iron truss structure to make it a pedestrian walkway that will reconnect the community.

Eighty percent of the project is being funded by the federal government and the rest by the Old Appleton Town Board. Most of the local match for the work is coming from the town's road fund and private donations.

The project should be complete by year's end.

It's taken much time and effort to find a way for Old Appleton to restore its bridge and reconnect with its past -- and its neighbors across the creek. But residents aren't ready to part with history and seem to have found the best solution possible.