This river crossing was once a popular ferry crossing. The ferry boat was operated by Captain Hinderman, so it became known as Hinderman's Ferry. That name later was applied to the bridge, which was known as Hinderman's Bridge.

One of the few pieces of documentation that I have been able to find on this bridge so far is from the General Laws of Minnesota for 1905. In Chapter 338, Section 13: "the sum of $1,800 to aid in building a bridge across the Minnesota river between the township of Ridgely in Nicollet county and the town of Home in Brown county, at or near what is known as Hinderman's Ferry. Said appropriation shall be expended under the direction of Captain Hinderman and William La Flamboy of Nicollet county and Hans Moe of the village of Sleepy Eye."

One interesting note is that this bridge does not appear on any historical maps from the era that I have located. It seems odd that a bridge would be established at this remote location when a bridge was already in place less than 5 miles upstream. So far, the only evidence that suggests that a bridge was at this location is a Minnesota state DNR canoe map that gives the location of the bridge remnants at river mile 170.9, and some wooden pilings on the edge of the river.

I attempted to check out the bridge site in the spring of 2008. The river was high, and was flowing across the approach road about a mile before the main river channel. Even in areas that were still above the river level, the road was muddy and had large sink holes. The north end of the bridge connects to a loop road that branches off of the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Parkway. That loop road was blocked off due to high water on each end.

I visited the bridge site a second time in July of 2008. The north approach road was open, but there was one spot that was impassable. This meant having to backtrack and reenter from the far end of the loop. I was not able to find the bridge landing on the north side of the river. I was able to travel the length of the approach road on the south side of the river. While it had some sink holes, it was generally passable. I was able to drive within a few feet of the edge of the river. From the south, you can tell where the road ended, and you can see a few wooden pilings one the far side of the river. This proves that there was something here at one time, perhaps a bridge.

The photos above and below are looking across the former river crossing. The pilings are visible in both photos.

The photo above is an example of a sink hole that I had to navigate across. The trick is to go very slow and stay on the high ground. If you mess up and end up stuck in the mud, it is 4 miles to the nearest paved road, and 10 miles to the nearest town. That would be a serious towing bill.

The photo below is the same road during the spring high water season. The river is just to the left of the road, but due to a large loop in the river, the road continues for 3/4-mile before meeting the river. Here we see the river is higher than the normal river banks, and the water is flowing cross-country to meet the other leg of the loop.