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 America's
second 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 (and a
few others) 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/ buck board 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 new 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!
This suspension bridge over Choctaw Creek in
Grayson County, Texas, was built around 1915. Before
the new US 82 was built just south of the bridge, it lay
undisturbed for several years, known only to local
residents. While the planks are slowly falling away, the
sturdy steel cables and iron pillars will last for
probably another century.
The KATY - Kansas, Texas, Missouri Railroad - used to pass
over this short tunnel bridge south of Colbert, Oklahoma.
Today, the overpass is burdened by Burlington Northern/ Santa
Fe trains.