Elm Fork Bridge
Denton, Denton County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This historic bridge was an important two-way traffic bridge over the Elm Fork of the Trinity River for growing automobile traffic in Denton County in the 1920s. The bridge is one of only two accessible iron and steel bridges in Denton County remaining in its original location on public land. Denton Construction Company began work on the bridge in 1922 and, at the time, it was the longest bridge in the county at 250 feet long. Concrete piers and abutments were installed in early March 1922 while crews waited for the shipments of steel to arrive later that month. The main span of the bridge is a 100-foot Pratt through-truss; east and west approach spans are Warren pony trusses 70 feet in length. Early iron bridges could only accommodate one-way traffic. The Elm Fork Bridge was built for two-way traffic in response to the growing number of automobiles on the roads. Built on one of the original wagon trails leading out of Denton, the road became known as Sherman Highway, connecting Denton with the U.S. Federal Court in Sherman. It was used locally as a feeder road and mail route between Denton, Aubrey and Sanger. It also served early farms and cattle ranches in the area; some were later inundated when the river was dammed. The bridge served traffic until 1990 when Sherman Highway (now FM 428) was widened and the bridge was bypassed. It was repurposed as a pedestrian bridge and remains in its original location as a part of the Ray Roberts Lake State Park Greenbelt. The greenbelt opened on National Trails Day in 1999 as a wilderness recreation area with a 20-mile multiuse trail that follows that banks of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2014
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1922 by the Denton Construction Company, the Elm Fork Bridge crossed the Trinity River's Elm Fork to serve the surging automobile traffic of the 1920s. At 250 feet it was then the county's longest bridge, its main span a 100-foot Pratt through-truss flanked by Warren pony-truss approaches — and, unlike the one-lane iron bridges before it, engineered for two-way traffic. It carried the Sherman Highway until 1990 and now serves walkers as part of the Ray Roberts Lake State Park Greenbelt.
Why it matters
The bridge marks the moment the automobile forced rural America to rebuild its roads and crossings, reshaping how ordinary people moved and traded.
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Themes & tags
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