Homer Interurban Bridge

Grading for the Homer line was contracted to Charles Spandau, who built the Spandau Bridge (Wood Ford Bridge) southwest of Bismarck in 1910. He did a lot of work locally for William McKinley and the Illinois Traction. I figure that may be how he got a contract for some of the work on the McKinley Bridge in St. Louis.

Another book that is useful is "Peek of the Past; Views of Old Homer Park" that was published in 1962. It's a large format book but only has about 10 pages. There are several photos of the covered bridge before and after the collapse, and several views of the interurban bridge. Based on photos in the book, the balloon marking the location of the bridge should probably be moved. One thing that led to the abandonment of the Homer branch from Old State Road south, and the reason the bridge was torn down so soon after abandonment, is that the Illinois Department of Transportation wanted the Illinois Traction right-of-way for the new Route 49 bridge to be built across the Salt Fork. There are photos in the book that show the Rt 49 steel bridge, and the remains of piers for the old traction bridge are directly under the steel bridge.

The interurban bridge was first used May 24, 1904. The bridge was primarily built in the spring of 1904. The bridge was abandoned in mid-July and taken down a few weeks later.

See Volumes I and II From the Timber to the Prairie: A history of Homer Illinois.

Ray Cunningham