Over time the covered bridge took on a persona of its own, with a tollbooth charging a penny for those walking and twelve cents for horse teams, a toll keeper living in a small house next to the bridge, and a sign at the east end warning of a five-dollar fine for riding or driving across faster than a walk. In winter, snow was scattered over the interior floor to aid horse-drawn sleighs. The bridge served many generations of travelers by enabling farmers to haul produce to market, sheltering courting couples out for a buggy ride, embracing children on their way to the nearby one-room schoolhouse, and hosting weddings, art walks, and other celebrations. Its unique construction earned designation in 1964 by the U.S. Department of Interior as a National Historic Landmark, and in 1984 the American Society of Civil Engineers officially recognized its innovation. Additions and repairs followed a series of setbacks: in 1869 a flash flood on the town side of the creek opened a new channel that required a small wooden extension; in 1887 a herd of cattle crashed through the extension and it was rebuilt with reused materials; in 1891 the second extension fell again under the weight of a threshing machine; in 1894 an iron extension replaced the wooden one; and in 1930 the bridge was retired from active transportation service when the iron span cracked beneath a load of ice.