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As of 1891, Winona, Minnesota had two railroad bridges built in 1871 and 1891. Wagon traffic across the Mississippi river consisted of a wooden trestle on the Wisconsin side built to Latsch Island in 1887 at a cost of $9,500. A ferry then carried them to the city of Winona. As traffic increased, a need for a bridge became evident, and the Winona City Council decided to build it as a toll bridge to be funded by bonds. It obtained approval from the Federal Government on September 25, 1890, Chapter 918, “An act to authorize the construction of a bridge across the Mississippi river at Winona, Minnesota,” with the following requirements…
Said bridge shall be constructed to provide for the passage of wagons and vehicles of all kinds, for the transit of animals, and for foot passengers, for such reasonable rates of toll as may be fixed from time to time by the Secretary of War.
SEC. 2…. That if the said bridge shall be built with unbroken and continuous spans it shall have one or more channel-spans, each giving a clear Spans. head-room of not less than fifty-five feet above high-water mark, as understood at the point of location, and a clear width of water-way of not less than three hundred and fifty feet, and the clear head room under other than channel-spans may be reduced to ten feet above high-water mark, as understood at the point of location, if the interests of navigation be not affected thereby and the piers of said bridge shall be parallel with the current of said river:
SEC. 4. That the structure herein authorized shall be built and located under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation of said river as the Secretary of War shall prescribe; and to secure that object the said city shall submit to the Secretary of War for examination and approval a design and drawing of the approve plans, etc. bridge and a map of the location, giving the topography of the banks of the river, the shore-lines at high and low water, and the soundings, accurately showing the bed of the stream, and shall furnish such other information as shall be required for a full and satisfactory understanding of the subject; and until the said plan and location of the bridge are decided by the Secretary of War to be such as will not materially affect the interests of navigation the bridge shall not be commenced or built. And should any change be made in the plan of said bridge during the progress of construction such changes shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War.
Wisconsin had earlier approved the bridge on March 15, 1880, (pontoon bridge) Chapter 274 and Minnesota approved the bridge, Chapter 113 in 1890. Proposals to design the bridge came from several engineers including J. A. L. Waddell, Oscar Zanne, H. H. Longfield, and George T. Baker, the engineer of the Muscatine Bridge (STRUCTURE magazine, September 2025). Baker was selected as the Chief Engineer to design the bridge. Based upon his Muscatine Bridge, he designed another similar cantilever span. The city wanted to keep the ferry bridge from Wisconsin to Latsch Island so he continued that alignment across the river but determined that the long approach down to land on Johnson Street in Winona would require too much land in the city. He decided to have the road make a left-hand turn and run down a ramp along the river front and then a right hand turn down to grade on Main Street. The grade on the approach ramp was 4.22%. The ramp was supported by pin connected deck trusses with spans of 40-60 feet. The bridge was built primarily of steel. The deck was 18 feet wide with a 5-foot sidewalk and was made of wood.
The bridge itself started with a 200-foot anchor span, the 360-foot main, cantilever, span, and another anchor span of 250 feet followed by a 250-foot span followed by a turn to the right and a timber trestle down to the existing Ferry Bridge. The slope of the anchor spans was 4.5% and the 360-foot span was level and provided a clearance over high water of the required 55 feet.
The last 250-foot span was a half-through span of unusual design, and on the portal featured the name of the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company and had a clearance over high water of 10 feet. The piers were masonry resting on a wooden mat set on wood piles. On the cantilever span, steel bents resting on the masonry supported the truss work. On the other piers, the steel trusses rested directly on the masonry.
Bids were sought from several bridge building companies. The Chicago Bridge and Iron Company was awarded the contract on September 24, 1891, for $94,700. A completion date of August 1,1892, was set with a $15/day penalty for late delivery. The firm was founded by H. E. Horton, the builder of the Fort Snelling Cantilever Bridge (STRUCTURE magazine, January 2025), in 1889 and was one of its first major bridges.
The bridge opened on July 4, 1892, to a grand celebration. The tolls as approved by the Department of War on August 1, 1892, were,
- For double teams with driver and one passenger one way, 15 cents, and for single teams with driver and one passenger one way, 10 cents. Each passenger in excess of driver and one passenger same rate as foot passenger.
- For horse and rider one way, 10 cents.
- For horses and cattle not exceeding ten in number per head, 10 cents; in excess of ten per head, 5 cents.
- For sheep or hogs, each 5 cents.
- For foot passengers or bicycle with rider one way, 5 cents.
- Children under 8 years of age, accompanied by adult person, free.
While the two 90 degree turns on the Winona approach and the narrow width of 18 feet were acceptable for horse drawn wagons, they were not acceptable for automobiles and trucks. By the 1930s it was obvious that the bridge would have to be upgraded. It continued to serve until 1941 when it was closed with the construction of a cantilever bridge upstream from the 1871 railroad bridge. An adjacent steel girder bridge was added in 2016 and the cantilever bridge was upgraded in 2019.
With the construction of the wagon bridge, Winona was proud to call itself the City of Bridges with its three bridges across the Mississippi River. ■
About the Author
Dr. Frank Griggs, Dist.M. ASCE, 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@verizon.net).
