Receiver Bridge

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Receiver Bridge, right here in Wichita County. Now, before we get to the bridge itself, we need to back up — way back — to 1803, when the United States acquired the Louisiana Territory. The Red River was a natural border of that territory, and over time it took on an even bigger role: serving as the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma.

Sounds simple enough. Except the Red River never got that memo. See, the Red River meanders.

It wanders and shifts and spills out into wide flood plains, the kind of river that doesn't hold still long enough for anybody to draw a clean line on a map. For a good long while, that was mostly just a geographical inconvenience. But then — 1920 — the Burkburnett oil field extended itself, and suddenly the banks and the very bed of that restless river were worth fighting over.

Oklahoma saw what was happening, saw the drilling activity pushing right down to the water's edge, and initiated a suit to determine who owned that land. The United States Supreme Court stepped in. By the Court's authority, the disputed land was temporarily placed under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

And somebody had to be put in charge of it. That somebody was Frederick A. Delano.

Now, you may not know the name Frederick A. Delano — but there's a good chance you know his nephew. That would be Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who would later become president of the United States.

Frederick was named as the receiver in charge of the property — and that, right there, is how this bridge got its name. As part of his plan of supervision, Delano had a one-lane wooden bridge built — two and a half miles north of where you're sitting right now — stretching out to the center of the river, giving workers access to those drilling sites. The legal side of things moved about as slowly as the river itself.

The boundary between the two states was set as the south bank of the Red River — but not until 1923. And even then, the work wasn't done. It took four more years — a special commission — to complete the actual survey work.

As for the bridge? It survived the legal battles, the oil boom, the jurisdictional wrangling. What it didn't survive was the 1935 flood, which partially destroyed it.

The river that started the whole argument — wandering, flooding, refusing to hold still — got the last word after all.

What the marker says

A natural border of the Louisiana Territory when it was acquired by the United States in 1803. The Red River later served as a boundary between the states of Texas and Oklahoma. The exact location for the line of separation was challenged in 1920 soon after an extension of the Burkburnett oil field led to increased drilling activity in the area, including the banks and the bed of the stream. Since the Red River meandered, causing wide flood plains, the state of Oklahoma initiated a suit to determine ownership of the land. By authority of the United States Supreme Court, the disputed land was temporarily placed under the jurisdiction of the federal government. Frederick A. Delano, whose nephew Franklin Delano Roosevelt later became president of the United States, was named as the receiver in charge of the property. As part of his plan of supervision, he had a one-lane wooden bridge (2.5 miles North) built to the center of the river, providing access to the drilling sites. The boundary between the two states was set as the south bank of the Red River in 1923. It was not until four years later that a special commission completed the actual survey work. The bridge was partially destroyed later during a 1935 flood. (1981)