Gene McCluney

Boy, it sure seems odd that an UNCOVERED wood truss bridge would last from 1870 thru the 1930's.

Probably was moved here in 1929.

It is amazing how short the life span of an uncovered wood bridge was. 18 years! Hardly seems economical to have built them.

Is this bridge blocked off? Can vehicles go across it? If so, it may be private now, but not abandoned.

If it is pin-connected, then it wasn't built new in 1940.

Wow, another road bridge with Phoenix Columns!!

Sure looks like Phoenix columns on the end. This would make this a very old bridge. Pre-1900 I think.

Well, with lally columns and pin connections I seriously doubt this bridge was manufactured in 1945, or even installed here in 1945. I say much older, pre-1920.

A Pegram truss is a rare find.

My earlier messsage was incorrect. We looked again, and found it today!!

Ongoing investigations by Jack and myself and friends seem now to indicate the bridge was completely in what we now know as LeFlore county in Oklahoma, about 7 miles south of Fort Smith on the Texas road. We are still researching.

There are some historians that are saying that this was the location of the Beale Road Iron bridge over the Sans Bois. Circa 1860. This is incorrect. The Beale Road Iron Bridge (one of 6 erected in Eastern Oklahoma in 1859-1860, was located much closer (about 8 miles further east on the Sans Bois) to the town of Iron Bridge, Oklahoma. The true site of the Beale bridge is now inundated due to the formation of a lake, and is not really visible.

Obviously the bridge depicted in my photographs is circa 1910, and has the construction techniques correct for that period, including the lally column supports. I don't think anyone could say that this is an 1860 Iron bridge, by any stretch.

I am indeed greatly indebted to Jack Beale Smith for his tremendous research on the Beale Road bridges. It is a fascinating and nearly "lost" part of early pioneer history. I have not used any writings by Mr. Beale in my essay, however I did use some quotations from a scanned newspaper article he sent me, as well as other newspaper mentions found and provided to me by Joe Wasson (whom I did credit). While there "may" not be a Whipple Bowstring category, the most likely type of bridge (in my opinion) would be the Whipple (patent) bowstring style bridge, as it is made up of Iron castings that are individually smaller than the full length of the arch, thus easier to transport to the site without rail, or river access. While the Poteau River site was close to the Arkansas river, and I'm sure the parts arrived via riverboat, the more remote bridges in Oklahoma would have to be transported overland at least some of the distance.

In the first comment below, I have links to bridgehunter pages showing Whipple (patent) Bowstring bridges still extant, which give very clear views of what I believe was the design of this bridge. Mr. Beale and I disagree on this point, but there is plenty of room for further research.

Old bridge is still there. Road removed, bridge blocked.

Here are a few links to Whipple bowstring bridges, the style and construction we believe to be similar or identical to the Beale Road bridges.

http://bridgehunter.com/ny/columbia/shaw/

http://bridgehunter.com/ny/albany/whipple/

http://bridgehunter.com/oh/licking/rodrick/