Medio Creek Bridge

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker on Medio Creek Bridge tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, most bridges don't get much of a biography. They just sit there, quiet and sturdy, letting the world roll across them.

But this one on Medio Creek, out in Bee County, has earned a few words. Back in 1897, the New Jersey Iron and Steel Company built this bridge to carry travelers on the road running from Beeville up to San Antonio. That's a route that mattered, and a crossing on Medio Creek mattered right along with it.

To pay for the thing, Bee County tapped its permanent school fund, selling bonds to raise the money. When all was said and done, construction costs came to three thousand nine hundred and ninety dollars. Not a fortune, but not nothing either.

What they got for that money was a steel Pratt through truss bridge, with a wooden deck and approaches, resting on riveted-steel caissons, those are the piers down in the water holding the whole conversation together. Now, Medio Creek is not always a gentle neighbor. Floods have come through, more than once, and this bridge has looked every one of them in the eye and kept standing.

In 1923, the top of the bridge was restored. In 1947, a new floor was constructed. The bridge kept right on working, carrying vehicles across that creek decade after decade, until 1987.

Ninety years of service on one crossing. That, friend, is a bridge that showed up.

What the marker says

Built in 1897 by the New Jersey Iron and Steel Company, this bridge has served as one of the major crossings on the road from Beeville to San Antonio. Funding for the bridge was acquired from the sale of bonds from Bee County's permanent school fund. Construction costs totaled $3,990. The steel Pratt through truss bridge, with a wooden deck and approaches, rests on riveted-steel caissons, or piers. It has survived numerous floods. The top of the bridge was restored in 1923, and a new floor was constructed in 1947. The bridge remained in service for vehicular traffic until 1987. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1987