Built in 1869. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
One of 60 National Register listings published here for Goodhue County · listed in 1975 · category: Structure · built in 1869.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
The chapter on Zumbrota Township in History of Goodhue County, Including a Sketch of the Territory and State of Minnesota; Together with an Account of the Early French Discoveries, Indian Massacres, the Part Borne by Minnesota's Patriots in the War of the Great Rebellion, and a Full and Complete History of the County from the Time of Its Occupancy by Swiss Missionaries in 1838. Pioneer Incidents, Biographical Sketches of Early and Prominent Settlers and Representative Men, and of Its Cities, Towns, Churches, Schools, Secret Societies, Etc, published 1878 names Zumbrota. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
Aaron Doty entered the northwest quarter and the southwest quarter of section 31, in 1856. The village was platted on this land by the Strafford Emigration Company, in September, 1856. Bailey and Thompson made an addition, which is called North Zumbrota in 1857. The west addition was made by Josiah Thompson, on section 36, Minneola township. The first house was built by C. W. Smith. It was a log structure, 14x18, and built on the south bank of the Zumbrota
The "Zumbrota Independent," was established March 25, 1875, by E. A. Mitchell, the present editor and proprietor. In the beginning, it was a six column to the page folio sheet, then seven columns, eight columns, and it now speaks to the people a quarto sheet of forty columns. It is independent in politics, devoted to the interests of Goodhue county in general, and Zumbrota in particular. It has labored faithfully in behalf of the railroad interests of that section, enjoys a good circulation and is liberally supported.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Zumbrota Township - 9,568 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Zumbrota Covered Bridge between 2003 and 2020, burning about 69 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 August 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 14 August 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 13 July 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 May 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 55 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 29 April 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 12 December 2020 | Fireworks | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 November 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 15 November 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Zumbrota Covered Bridge: 4 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deden Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Dierke Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Kyllo Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Lokens Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Zumbrota, the town this property stands in, in 32 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 15 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2018 | Tornado (EF0) | Zumbrota | $50,000 | A NWS storm survey, plus areal footage of drone and satellite data, concluded that an EF0 tornado started north of Zumbrota, and tracked northeast for 5.4 miles until moving into Wabasha County, southwest of Bellechester. This tornado tracked mainly through corn and soy bean fields, and occasionally damaging a few sheds and outbuildings. The damage was consistent with EF0 damage with maximum wind speeds of 85 mph and a width of 150 yards. |
| March 2025 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | Multiple reports of large hail, up to 1.25 inches in diameter. Sources include a trained weather spotter in Zumbrota and a Broadcast Meteorologist. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | Large tree branch down in Zumbrota MN. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | Several trees and power lines were blown down around Zumbrota. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | There was a large tree that was uprooted in the city of Zumbrota. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | Multiple trees were blown down near Zumbrota. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | Several large tree limbs were blown off near Zumbrota, Minnesota. |
| August 2010 | Heavy Rain | Zumbrota | - | A local observer measured 2.72 inches of rainfall in three hours. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | Scattered trees down. |
| March 2005 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | Golf ball hail fell along Highway 52. |
| March 2005 | Funnel Cloud | Zumbrota | - | Observed nearly over town. |
| May 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Zumbrota | - | A tornado briefly touched down just west of Mazeppa. A few trees were downed and a fence was damaged before the tornado dissipated. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | A 1 foot diameter tree was downed onto 5th Street. |
| July 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | Few trees down. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | Trees down. Estimated windspeed. |
| July 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | Large tree blown over. Estimated windspeed. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| September 2016 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| September 2007 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Flash Flood | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Zumbrota | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | First Congregational Church of Zumbrota | 0.3 miles | 1980 |
| George Baslington Farmhouse | 3.9 miles | 1980 | |
| Bringgold, Jacob A. and Mary Finn House | 6.6 miles | 2014 | |
| Jacob Bringghold House | 6.6 miles | 1980 | |
 | Opera Block House | 6.7 miles | 1980 |
 | Pine Island City Hall and Fire Station | 6.7 miles | 1980 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 75000984 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Goodhue County | All 60 listed properties in this county. |
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