Aquilla Creek Truss Bridge
Gholson, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The road crossing Aquilla Creek at this point was built in 1875. In times of heavy rainfall the condition of the roadbed across Aquilla Creek was impassable. In September 1887 county Judge W. W. Evans contracted with the King Iron Bridge Company to build a span of 125 feet with a 100-foot approach on each side of the creek. The King Iron Bridge Company did not complete the work, and the contract was given to the Missouri Valley Bridge Iron Works of Leavenworth, Kansas. That company finished the bridge in 1892 and was paid $3,000. Two other iron truss bridges were built over Aquilla Creek between Waco and Gholson and between West and Gholson. Both were torn down in the 1950s. A concrete bridge was built for vehicular traffic in 1998; this historic bridge was saved due to strong local support. (2000)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Aquilla Creek's crossing was notoriously impassable in wet weather, so in 1887 the county judge contracted for an iron span with a hundred-foot approach on each bank. The first firm failed to finish, and the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Works of Leavenworth, Kansas, completed the truss bridge in 1892 for $3,000. Two sister iron bridges over the same creek fell in the 1950s, but strong local support saved this one even after a modern concrete bridge took over the traffic in 1998.
Why it matters
Surviving iron truss bridges are increasingly rare monuments to the late-19th-century engineering that finally made rural roads reliable in every season.
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Related people
- · Judge W. W. Evans
Themes & tags
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