Near this site on the west bank of the north-flowing Big Sioux River, a Sioux quartzite ledge known to early residents as Cherry Rock overlooked a deep swimming hole where daring swimmers leaped or dived on hot summer afternoons. Today Cherry Rock is hidden from view within the quartzite block facade of the west bridge abutment, and historical accounts disagree on whether the rock is red or pink with several dark red, cherry-sized markings. Cherry Rock Bridge, completed in 1902 by the C. A. Grinde Company, is the only bridge ever erected at this river crossing, an elongated rectangular steel bridge almost 192 feet long and 17 feet wide, built for horse-drawn wagons and buggies with two sections: a Parker Through Truss at the west end and a two-panel Pratt Pony Truss at the east end. Its original roadway was a wood plank floor, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.