My husband comes from Rockville, Indiana, home of the famous "Covered Bridge Festival" that celebrates the numerous wooden, roofed bridges in Parker County. My mom grew up in Berlin, where bridges adorned with stern dead men imposed their carved majesty over the many canals flowing into the Spree River. Me, I come from the Red River Valley, where most of our bridges are plain old concrete, utilitarian structures. Dallas even boasts the Houston Viaduct, once considered the longest concrete bridge in the world (oh, yea). This claim is a little under whelming, although in one episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger" the bridge acted as a portal to Mexico,  which is very, very funny to anyone familiar with Dallas. Every once in a while, however, the views of the many creeks and rivers in this area are delightfully obstructed by iron truss bridges. Iron, wedded with other materials like brick and stone, has been used in bridge construction since the 18th century. The very first all-iron bridge, in an arch design, was built in England. Iron truss bridges, which were based on wooden bridge designs, became popular in America. Forged in foundries in the mid-Atlantic and mid-western states, the bridges could be shipped via rail and then assembled on site. They were painted either red or orange to hide the rust that would inevitably develop. By the mid-20th century, rust-resistant steel replaced iron as the material of choice. The ironworks who competed against each other in bridge building offered many different patterns. Their work can be readily discerned by iron truss bridge aficionados, who can tell just by looking at the lattice and beam work which engineer designed which bridge. Along the Red River Valley, almost all counties sport at least one old, reliable iron truss. Most people pass by them without nary a glance, but without taking proper care of these bridges, they will become victims to "progress." Farm machinery has become too wide, car traffic too numerous, and rail traffic too little. Sitting on byways in various states of decay, a lot of these bridges are slated for demolition, or at least removal. Civic minded people take it upon themselves to save the trusses - many have found new homes in parks and along walking trails. These old bridges aren't just laying about in silent testimony of our many modes of transportation. By using iron and later, steel, these humble marvels symbolized the Industrial Age.

This long, shaky truss, with wooden planks and no support beams, lies on a dirt road near Mannsville, Carter County, Oklahoma. Locals told me that Bonnie and Clyde had frequented the area and had camped near the bridge, and supposedly, some scenes from the movie were filmed here.

Truss Bridges in the Red River Valley

Always watch for holes in the bridge!

Carpenter's Bluff Bridge over the Red River once served a local railroad, and now ferries cars across, one at a time. This is the Oklahoma view. To the bridge's left is the entrance for the pedestrian walkway. It's not advisable to walk on it, though, because most of its wooden planks are missing!

For more history on bridges than you'll ever want to know, visit http://www.icomos.org/studies/bridges.htm

You can find a lot of interesting, and some gruesome, things underneath these old bridges. Here's an old agitator under a truss bridge near Mannsville, Oklahoma. Nearby were several dog carcasses and some coyote pelts. I was a little weirded out.

Here's another strange sight underneath a bridge: a dead hog. Good thing it was below freezing, or the smell alone would have knocked me out. Eww.

The truss bridge at Fort Griffin Flat, a ghost town, leads to nowhere.

An old iron truss bridge, removed from its original site, is awaiting a permanent home at Fort Richardson State Park in Jacksboro, Jack County, Texas.

Completely concrete bridges began as a cheaper alternative and replaced truss bridges in the early part of the 20th century. By 1935, most bridges constructed were concrete, like this one near Petty, Texas.

As time and money permits, I will be adding to these photos soon! If you'd like to share your own photos of truss bridges - wherever you are - send me an e-mail at robin@redriverhistorian.com!