About the author  ⁄ Frank Griggs, Jr., Dist. M. ASCE, D. Eng., P.E., P.L.S.

Dr. Frank Griggs, Jr. specializes in the restoration of historic bridges, having restored many 19th Century cast and wrought iron bridges. He is now an Independent Consulting Engineer. (fgriggsjr@twc.com)

Winona bridge, Minnesota/Wisconsin 1871.

The Winona and St. Peter Railroad (originally the Transit Railroad Company) was founded in 1862 and planned to run westerly from Winona on the Mississippi River to St. Peter, about 125 miles away, reaching that point in 1871. From there, it reached Watertown, South Dakota, in 1873. In 1867, it was purchased by the Chicago and North Western Railway that was chartered on June 7, 1859, and from Chicago, it reached the Mississippi at a point in Wisconsin east of Winona, Minnesota, in 1873. It continued its route north to St. Paul, connecting with the Northern Pacific Railroad heading for the West Coast at Puget Sound. However, a bridge connecting the two lines, now under the control of the Chicago and North Western Railway, was needed. After a five-year battle, approval was given to build the bridge in accordance with the 1866 federal law prescribing the requirements for a low-level and a high-level bridge as described for the Quincy and other bridges. Section 8 of the July 25, 1866 Act stated,

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Keokuk & Hamilton bridge.

This bridge between Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, Illinois, was one of the eight Mississippi River sites approved by Congress and signed by President Andrew Johnson on July 25, 1866. As such, it had to abide by the requirements for a low-level bridge with a swing span or a high-level bridge with specified horizontal and vertical clearances. The Hancock County Bridge Company received its approval from the Illinois legislature on February 13, 1865, and the Keokuk and Hamilton Mississippi River Bridge Company received its approval from the Iowa Legislature on January 15, 1866. Based upon a survey in 1867, the city of Keokuk in 1868 granted a right-of-way across the levee.

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The Dubuque and Pacific Railroad began construction on a 29-mile line extending from Dubuque to Dyersville, Iowa in 1857 followed by another 49-mile section to Jessup by 1860. It was purchased by the Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad which extended the line to Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Illinois Central was formed on February 10, 1851 as one of the first land grant railroads and was to run northerly from Cairo at the southwestern tip of Illinois northerly to Chicago and then westerly to Freeport and on to Dunleith, Illinois for a distance of 453 miles. It arrived in Dunleith in 1866. It leased the Dubuque and Sioux City Railroad line in 1867 to extend its line into Iowa.

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Quincy Bridge, Illinois/Missouri 1868

The Quincy Bridge Company was incorporated in Illinois in 1853 and in Missouri in 1866 as part of a general act regulating the construction of roads and bridges. It was to connect Quincy, Illinois with West Quincy, Missouri. On July 25, 1866 Congress passed a bill approving construction of the bridge. This was part of a larger bill “to authorize the construction of certain bridges, and to establish them as Post-roads” and was for bridges over the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Section 1 stated, 

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19th Century Mississippi River Bridges Series

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad started very small in 1849 with lines around Chicago and points to the southwest. By 1864, it had extended its lines southwesterly to the east bank of the Mississippi River, opposite Burlington, Iowa. A car ferry carried the train across the river where it connected with the Burlington and Missouri Railroad that had been incorporated in 1852 and expanded westerly, reaching the Missouri River by January 1, 1870. 

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19th Century Mississippi River Bridges Series

St. Paul, originally called Pig’s Eye, was founded approximately 13 miles downriver from Minneapolis near Fort Snelling. It was the northernmost access on the navigable river for steamboats on the Mississippi. It was settled on the north (east) bank of the Mississippi, on a bluff overlooking the river with low lands to the south (west bank). In 1849, the city was incorporated, and steamboat landings increased rapidly in the early 1850s. Its population reached almost 5,000 people by 1850. The river at the site was divided by Raspberry Island. Passage across the river was by rope ferries, and it soon became apparent that a bridge was necessary if the city continued to grow. As early as 1849, pressure to build a bridge started, and, in 1854, the Territorial Legislature passed Chapter 30, An Act to Incorporate the Saint Paul Bridge Company, on March 4. Sections 12, 14, 15, and 18 stated in part:

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19th Century Mississippi River Bridges Series

As early as 1842, some early promoters of  the Transcontinental Railroad selected a route that would cross the Mississippi between Rock City, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. They chose this site based on a survey in 1837 by Lt. Robert E. Lee, as the river was narrow and separated by Rock Island, the home of a former army fort. This would require a bridge over each branch and an embankment across the island. In 1850, Congress passed an act granting public lands to railroad companies to encourage the country’s development. Congress also passed an act, in August 1852, granting a right-of-way for rail and plank roads on public lands.

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