Russell Fork Iron Truss Bridge

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of the Russell Fork Iron Truss Bridge. Two miles south of the Joppa Community Church and Center, six miles northeast of Bertram, there is a bridge standing over the Russell Fork of the North San Gabriel River. Iron truss, Pratt design, one hundred and two feet of it, still out there doing what bridges do.

And the story of how it got there is worth knowing. On September 5, 1910, the Burnet County Commissioners Court called an election. The question on the table: fund the construction of two bridges within Burnet County.

Now, folks voted yes, and bids opened for two projects, the Oakalla Bridge and the Russell Fork Bridge. Two bridges, one county, one vote. The land for the Russell Fork Bridge was purchased from the Asher family, an active and well-known family in the Joppa area.

The design and the materials came from the Missouri Valley Bridge and Iron Company, out of Leavenworth, Kansas. The diagonals on that bridge were built according to the Pratt Truss design, first developed in 1844 under Thomas and Caleb Pratt. By 1911, that bridge was standing.

One hundred and two feet across the Russell Fork, built to last. And last it did. The Ashers crossed it.

Families from across the Joppa community crossed it. Traveling to neighboring towns to conduct business, the marker says, was simplified. That is a quiet sentence carrying a lot of weight.

Think about what it meant in those years to shorten a hard road, to make commerce possible, to bring young people within reach of higher education. Those iron truss bridges of Burnet County, built in the early part of the twentieth century, did all of that. They expanded economic progress in rural communities, broadened opportunities, introduced higher education to many young people.

And then, when the Depression settled in, and then the years of World War II, families came back to that bridge for something altogether different. Life on the river and under the bridge, the marker says, was a large form of entertainment and relaxation. After everything a bridge is supposed to do, it turns out it also gave people a place to breathe.

One hundred and two feet of iron truss, holding up more than just the road.

What the marker says

Two miles south of the Joppa Community Church and Center, and six miles northeast of Bertram, stands an Iron Truss Pratt bridge over the Russell Fork of the North San Gabriel River. On September 5, 1910, the Burnet County Commissioners Court called an election to fund the construction of two bridges within Burnet County. The vote passed and bids opened for the Oakalla Bridge and Russell Fork Bridge. Land for the Russell Fork Bridge was purchased from the Asher family, an active and well-known family in the Joppa area. The design and materials for the bridge were provided by the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Company of Leavenworth, Kansas. The total length of the 1911 Truss Bridge is 102 feet, with diagonals constructed according to the Pratt Truss design, first developed in 1844 under Thomas and Caleb Pratt. The Russell Fork Iron Truss Bridge played an important role in the everyday lives of the Ashers and many other families in the Joppa community. Traveling to neighboring towns to conduct business was simplified. In addition, life on the river and under the bridge was a large form of entertainment and relaxation during the great depression and World War II. The Iron Truss Bridges of Burnet County built in the early 20th century expanded the economic progress of the rural communities, introduced higher education to many young people and broadened opportunities, and also provided a place for entertainment and recreation for the surrounding area.