Jefferson City's First Bridge

Introduction to Jefferson City's First Bridge

For the first seven decades of the existence of the State of Missouri, the waterways were the major routes of migration, travel and commerce for the emerging western states. Those years were dominated by navigation by bullboat, canoe, rowboat and steamboats as the principal means of transportation. With the coming of the decade of the 1890's came the feasibility of spanning major rivers with bridges of steel superstructure. Rivers and major streams would no longer be the barrier to travel and commerce that had existed for so long.

At that time, it was not in the realm of state or federal government to provide strategically located bridges constructed from public funds. Bridges would be constructed from private moneys, initiated by men of vision and strength to accomplish the task. It was by banding together to promote the common good and to solicit the necessary funds from private sources to be able to build a major resource such as a bridge.

Local organizations sprang from endeavors such as these and claim names like "Commercial Club" or "Chamber of Commerce" as was the case in the City of Jefferson. It was these organizations that would guide and promote major projects for the future betterment of business and public interests. It was organizations of this nature that would promote and guide improvements in streets and roads, sidewalks, railroads, trolleys, and bridges all for the local betterment and the common good.

It took an exceptional circumstance like potential relocation of the Missouri Capitol from the City of Jefferson to Sedalia to bring the major businessmen of the city together to build a bridge that would be the key factor in preventing the capitol relocation. The newly formed organization of businessmen who successfully completed the bridge went on to start a decade of major improvements within the City of Jefferson which would help assure that the Capitol of Missouri would remain here.

During the construction phase of the bridge, a number of images of the construction were taken and a select series of at least 58 images were specially annotated with a number to indicate its position in the series and the date which it was taken. The photographer that took these images and the existence of glass plate negatives from which these prints were derived remains unknown to this day.

The partial set of derivatives of this series, of which a number of images are missing, have been preserved in the special collections section of a library of an east coast university and the provenance of these images is unknown other than they were donated in 1956. To that unknown individual, we owe a debt for their foresight in recognizing the value of the images and making provisions to see that they were available to the public in the future.

The images presented here are not first or even second derivatives of those original glass plate negatives, but have been produced from prints from the glass plates that were photographed by an individual and those prints donated to the university. From those images scans have been made and digitally enhanced as much as those badly degraded images would permit to deliver what is available in print in this book

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Dr. Walter Schroeder's Comments on Jefferson City's First Bridge

Missouri created Jefferson City in 1821 specifically to be its state capital, but that status was questionable until 1895-1896 when the first bridge across the Missouri River at Jefferson City was built by private financing. That event was immediately followed by a statewide referendum vote in November 1896 that conclusively affirmed Jefferson City as the state capital. The bridge's construction was the catalyst that led to that decision.

Though the bridge has now been gone for 67 years, its story needs to be told. Thanks to Wayne Johnson we now have its story in this attractive and informative book. Johnson tracked down a sizable collection of photos of glass-plate negatives of its construction in an east coast institution. Digitally enhanced by Johnson, they are the essence of the book. He puts those photos and others into helpful context, so that readers will learn about the bridge's conception, construction, and changing usage over its existence of more than half century. A retired engineer, Johnson also helps us understand past engineering terms and practices. Beyond the local audience, bridge aficionados everywhere will profit from the book.

The bridge was from a much different time period. Conceived and built to handle horses, wagons, and foot traffic, the bridge was narrow with wooden floorboards. Cars and trucks were yet to come, and when they came the bridge was woefully ill-suited to handle their increasing size and weight. When it was purchased by Missouri Highway Department in 1932 it had to be retrofitted to handle the increasingly faster and heavier traffic. Furthermore it was built only 25-30 feet above the normal river surface. This required a span to be rotated open to allow passage of steamboats, which interrupted vehicle flow on the bridge.

The grande dame of 1896 aged into a decrepit old lady and met its ultimate demise in 1955 when it was demolished by ingloriously dropping it into the river. The first of two bridges replaced it in 1955 and a second was added in 1991.

Long gone are those who witnessed its construction and early years. Still present today, however, are those with memories of using it in its later years such as daily commuters from Cedar City and car and truck drivers who slowed to a near standstill to pass each other. Its memory includes boys like me who turned crossing it into a lively adventure by hanging over the river on the outside of the railing like dare devils. We stood awestruck on the river bank as the great bridge slowly swung open as whistle-blowing steamboats passed beneath it. Such adventures cannot happen on the current bridges.

This is a compelling book for those interested in Jefferson City's past. We owe Wayne Johnson our gratitude for this meticulously researched, photo-filled, and engagingly written book on a pivotal event of the capital city's history.

Dr. Walter A. Schroeder