Old Appleton Bridge
Photos
 |
View from southwest Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
View from northwest Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
View from northeast Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
View from southeast Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Bridge and milldam Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
South portal Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
North portal Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Plaque H.W. Sebastian & Co. Builders St. Louis, Mo. 18 79 Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Behind north portal Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Upper chord hip joint Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Joint along upper chord Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Overhead bracing Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Lower chord endpost joint Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Lower chord eyebars Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Looking down at lower chord joint Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Underneath main span Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Center pier Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
North abutment Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Standing on pony truss Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Pony truss outriggers Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Pony truss upper joint Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Underneath pony truss Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
The crowd Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Blessing Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Ribbon cutting Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Parade of horses Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Antique car returning across the bridge Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Bunting and decorations Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
View from the Highway 61 bridge Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
View from below the mill dam Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
December 4: Deck almost finished Nancy Matteoni was probably one of the first people to walk across the newly laid wooden deck. Photo taken by Nancy Matteoni |
 |
December 4: Standing on the bridge Photo taken by Nancy Matteoni |
 |
December 4: View of the old mill dam This scene is likely to be photographed by countless future visitors. Photo taken by Nancy Matteoni |
 |
November 19: Overview By mid-November, the bridge superstructure is finished, leaving only the wooden deck to install Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
November 19: South approach Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
October 30: Side view Photo taken by Nancy Matteoni |
 |
October 30: Deck view from north Photo taken by Nancy Matteoni |
 |
October 30: View from northwest Photo taken by Nancy Matteoni |
 |
October 30: Underneath Photo taken by Nancy Matteoni |
 |
September 23: The big day During the afternoon of Sept. 23, the main span was hoisted into position. One end was floated across the creek on a small barge. In this photo, the crane operator is yanking the barge out of the water. Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
September 23: South portal Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
August 7: Main span preparations After sitting neglected on the ground for several years, the main span starts to receive some attention, with a new coat of paint and other repairs. Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
August 7: Pony trusses Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Side view Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Portal Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
View from south Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Stone piers Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
South abutment Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
North abutment Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
Pile of damaged girders Photo taken by James Baughn |
 |
HABS photo This photo from the Historic American Buildings Survey shows the bridge and mill dam as they originally looked in 1939 |
 |
Postcard |
 |
Old Appleton Bridge at Christmas Time Photo taken by John Christeson in December 2008 |
Map
- Google Maps
- Google Street View (if available)
- Yahoo! Maps
- Bing Maps
- MSR Maps
- OpenStreetMap
Facts
- Overview
- Wrought-iron through truss bridge over Apple Creek on Main Street in Old Appleton
- Status
- Open to pedestrians and bicyclists only
- History
- Built 1879 by H.W. Sebastian & Co. of St. Louis; washed away by flash flood on December 3, 1982; reconstructed 2005
- Builder
- - H.W. Sebastian & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri
- Design
- From north to south:
Two pin-connected, 3-panel Pratt pony trusses
One pin-connected, 9-panel wrought-iron Pratt through truss, 103 feet long - Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 103 ft.
Total length: 161 ft.
Deck width: 13 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on August 25, 2009
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +37.59771, -89.71327 (decimal degrees)
37°35'52" N, 89°42'48" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 16/260463/4164643 (zone/easting/northing)
- USGS topographic map
- Oak Ridge
- Inventory numbers
- NRHP 09000648 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 21116 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- September 3, 2009: Bridge has been listed on the NRHP
- December 30, 2008: New photo from John Christeson
- April 24, 2006: Posted photos from the dedication ceremony
Sources
- HABS MO-1323 - Apple Creek Mill
- Nancy Matteoni - matteoni1 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
- John Christeson - panamakid_69 [at] yahoo [dot] com
- James Baughn - webmaster [at] bridgehunter [dot] com
- National Register nomination
Comments
Hello. Both of my parents were born and raised in Old Appleton. My great-uncle owned the brewery before McGovern bought it. My Grandpa owned the saloon. We use to go fishing in the creek. We'd walk across the bridge, seemed everytime there was a car that had to cross. The memories that I and my 2 brothers have, are some of the most wonderful and happiest memories of our lives. God Bless all who care about Old Appleton.
My grandpa used to live next to the post office and we used to swim and jump off the old bridge back in the 70's. My kids and I still go there from time to time and I am so glad they finally got the new bridge up. It hasn't been the same without a bridge connecting the two halves of the town.
Thank God and all those who helped for making sure it was a replica and not an ugly concrete eyesore.
I just got back a few minutes ago from the bridge. As children, our families had cabins on the "creek". We went through several floods and survived them all. The last time I visited the area was before my mother died. She wanted to see what "was left after the flood". I wished she could be around today to see your new bridge. What a wonderful job you all did. Thank you. A few tears fell while I stood looking and remembering. Van's Tavern looks the same but much worn with age. As a child, I made the local paper along with my friend when we wrecked our mini bike motorcycles on the bridge.
Again thank you. GREAT JOB!!!
Thank goodness MODOT didn't get their hands on this one. I remember riding across this bridge as a kid. It is really something special to see it back where it belongs.