Abandoned Bridge in Mendon, Michigan

This rotting structure is called the Marantette Bridge, spanning the St. Joseph River on Railroad Street near the town of Mendon. Closed since the 1980s, it is believed to have been built in 1900 by Ohio's Massillon Bridge Company.

This 139-foot long bridge had been used by the local kids for fishing and swimming. According to a local resident in a 2015 article on the Sturgis Journal web page, “People used to fish from it all the time. It was a real swimming hole. A lot of kids jumped off it.....It was a rite of passage from many kids in Mendon.”

There is a second abandoned bridge just west of the Marantette Bridge. While the Marantette Bridge made the State Register of Historic Places in 1989 and The National Register in 2001, the other bridge was ignored by both, saying it was “too common to be included”.

The Marantette Bridge is extremely dangerous to walk across, as many of the wood beams have rotted and left gaping holes. The gallery below shows a good handful of photos of the bridge.