John W. and Silas S. Fallas settled here in 1837, founding the village, a stop on the main stage route from Ionia to Grand Rapids, and constructing a chair factory (considered an important precursor to the furniture industry in the Grand Rapids area), saw mill and grist mill.

[3] Because the various repairs and restorations were completed with "conscientious attention to detail", it is believed that the bridge has retained historic integrity and character.

[3] The adjacent grist mill site was the focus of an archaeological dig by Michigan Tech industrial archaeologists in 2003.

[2] The historical marker at the site reads as follows: John W. and Silas S. Fallas settled here in 1837, founded a village which soon boasted a chair factory, sawmill, and gristmill.

About 1840 the first of several wooden bridges was placed across the Flat River, but all succumbed in a short time to high water and massive spring ice jams.

Bridge builder Jared N. Bresee of Ada was given a contract in 1871 to build the present structure.

Constructed at a cost of $1500, the bridge has lattice work trusses made of white pine timbers.

[8]The bridge remains open to vehicular traffic, although it was damaged in 2013 after a heavy cement truck drove through it.