Leon River Bridge, 1904

Duane's take

The way I tell it, I'm going off what the official marker says right here at this crossing on the Leon River, so let's see what it's got to say. Now, before there was a highway, before there was even a proper bridge, there was a road. The Old Georgetown Road, they called it, and it was already cutting through this part of Coryell County by 1854.

And right here, where that road met the Leon River, somebody had to figure out how to get across. That somebody was a man named R. G.

Grant, a local entrepreneur and land developer, and as early as 1854 he was running a ferry at this very crossing. A ferry. You can picture it, rope and river and the patience of everyone waiting on the bank.

Things moved along, as things tend to do in Texas. By 1882, they put up a Bowstring Truss Bridge near this spot. Now, that was no small thing.

That was the first metal truss bridge in all of Coryell County. First one. People probably came just to look at it.

But the Leon River had other ideas. In 1899, a major flood came through and damaged that bridge. Then, before anyone had time to feel settled about it, 1900 brought another one.

Two major floods in two years. The County Commissioners Court had seen enough. They authorized the building of another bridge, and this time they meant for it to last.

They brought in the George E. King Bridge Company, all the way from Des Moines, Iowa, and in 1904 those folks built what you're looking at right now. Steel construction.

Wood decking. Original lattice railings. Pin-connected members.

And those elaborate stone abutments, which, frankly, give the whole thing a kind of dignity you don't often see on a county crossing. The numbers alone tell you something was built to endure. One hundred and forty-one feet from end to end, accounting for the four-foot depth of the masonry piers underneath.

The main span, a 137-foot Pratt through truss, with a five-foot timber approach span feeding into it. One of the few such bridges still surviving in Texas. That's not a casual distinction.

This bridge became a major east-west artery for Central Texas. When the State of Texas organized its highway system, this road was folded into State Highway 7 in 1917. Then, in the 1930s, it was renamed U.S.

Highway 84. The same river crossing that once needed a ferry was now carrying the weight of a whole region's movement. In 1994, the bridge was restored and rededicated.

They put the work in, and the old structure held. From R. G.

Grant's ferry in 1854, to the Bowstring Truss that floods took down, to a King Company bridge built in 1904 that's still standing while the world around it keeps changing. Some crossings, it turns out, are built deeper than the river they span.

What the marker says

The route once known as the Old Georgetown Road was in existence by 1854 and crossed the Leon River here. A ferry operated at this crossing as early as 1854 and was owned by R. G. Grant, a local entrepreneur and land developer. The Bowstring Truss Bridge erected near here in 1882 was the first metal truss bridge in Coryell County. It was damaged by two major floods in 1899 and 1900, and the County Commissioners Court authorized the building of another bridge. The George E. King Bridge Company of Des Moines, Iowa built this structure in 1904. Features include steel construction, wood decking, original lattice railings, pin-connected members, and elaborate stone abutments. The overall length of 141 feet from end to end allows for the 4-foot depth of masonry piers supporting the bridge. It is a 137-foot Pratt through truss span with a 5-foot timber approach span, and is one of few such bridges surviving in Texas. The 1904 bridge served as a major east-west artery for Central Texas. The road became part of State Highway 7 in 1917, and was renamed U.S. Highway 84 in the 1930s. The historic bridge was restored and rededicated in 1994. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1996