Chain of Rocks Bridge

From 1931 through 1995 my family owned an acre of ground with a small house (block 11, lots 2-3 to be exact)at Chain of Rocks that they used for a retreat place on the weekends and holidays. Some of my best childhood memories are from visiting Chain of Rocks. One of the highlights of every trip was to walk down to and across the bridge. Nice to hear that someone else called it the “rickety-rackety" bridge. I thought it was only us!

The truck incident in the previous post is not correct.. That was the Frenchmans Bluff Bridge in Cuivre River State Park.

It was never torn down. There was an incedint where a semi decided to use it to back up to turn around even though he relized he was exceeding the weight limit. When he backed up on it, his semi broke through and the bridge caved in. He was not hurt. This is all according to the news I watched years ago and what I remeber.

Can anybody tell me when this bridge was torn down? Thanks!

"Posted March 19, 2008, by David B. Haun (dbhaun [at] gmail [dot] com)

Open to Pedestrians and bicycles maintained by Trailnet information from Wikipedia."

Not the same Chain Of Rocks bridge. The one you the wiki entry is talking about went over the Mississippi River on the nother edge of St. Louis. This bridge crossed the Cuivre River in Lincoln County.

I grew up in Chain of Rocks in the 1970s, and I remember you could hear cars crossing that old bridge from a mile away. My friends and I would fish off the rocks below, and we would jump off the bridge to swim in the river. We also used to climb through the framework to the top of the bridge and just sit there and watch the cars go by. What great memories!

Back in the 1960s my parents had good friends who farmed on the Lincoln County side of the Cuivre River. This was the quickest route between their farm and O'Fallon, where we lived. We always took this route on our way to the farm in the daylight, but my brothers and sisters would cry if my dad turned right to go across the "rickety-rackety" bridge (the loose deck boards made a big racket!) instead of left to reach Hwy C to go through Old Monroe.

I grew up on a farm along hwy Y to the south of the bridge. I do not have many memories that do not include setting traps, setting trot lines or hunting arrowheads along the cuivre in this area. These excursions normaly ended with a chain burger at the chain of rocks tavern. then later in life, when dating my wife, I found out the she was scared to death to cross the old bridge. so I made it a point to take her across every time I had a chance. I always told her, that old bridge will be here longer than we will.

I used to fish under this bridge almost everyday during the summer in the late 70's and 80's. I have seen equipment and trucks go across this bridge that were 2 to 3 times the posted load was and that old bridge would just keep taking it.

Open to Pedestrians and bicycles maintained by Trailnet information from Wikipedia.

Used to cross this bridge on my bicycle in the 70s to get to the Chain of Rocks tavern, where a 13 year old could get a cold Bud.

The oak deck was replaced in the mid-late 70s. My friend's dad, who lived in the St. Charles County side and farmed on the Lincoln County side, would park his truck on the south end, then cross the bridge on foot using the iron girders as his path, then climb into his other truck on the north side. Being a farmer, he'd do this before sunrise.