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The Stanford Road Bridge across Russell's Creek, 1903 An impressive bit of historical research by JIM. Grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage and click the headline to load the full article, then take the time to appreciate his special gift for catching the nuances of the politics and financing of major public works in Adair County at the turn of the last century. --Pen By JIM In February 1902, travel conditions in Adair county ranged from bad to abysmal. Said The News about the ford on the Stanford Road, a mile or so from the Square, "The deposit of sand, mud and leaves at the crossing of Russell creek on the Stanford road is so deep that it is very disagreeable to loaded teams and buggies. Nearly every rise in the creek leaves the road at that ford in bad condition.News editor C.S. Harris spoke from personal experience, as his farm lay just beyond the crossing. Very shortly thereafter, a movement agitating for the span came to the front, but the Fiscal Court declared the county could not bear the expense of building two bridges at once. Instead, as The News reported in early April, "the sledge hammer of decision fell" and the Magistrates decided -- by one vote -- "to build a bridge over the above mentioned stream [Russell's Creek], on the Somerset Road, just above Wilson's Mill." (A later report placed the bridge "just above Wilson's Mill and just below the mouth of Sulphur [Creek]." (This same edition of the paper reported the Somerset road structure would cost around $1,800; the actual cost ran a little over $1,900. In order for it to be built, the Fiscal Court imposed a levy of ten cents per $100 worth of property; required that the citizens who would directly benefit raise $400 of the cost; and further required that landowners relinquish the necessary rights-of-way.) The paper also noted this was the second time the Stanford Road contingent had come up short, the first time occurring in 1900 when those pushing for the span withdrew their petition in order to allow construction of two other bridges in the county, one across Russell's Creek near Milltown, the other across Green River at Plum Point. (See also: the Plum Point bridge saga.) Come early March 1903, Editor Harris once again pointed out the calamitous condition of the Stanford Road ford, stating that recent rise in the water had flooded the bottomland and that "[t]he west bank at the crossing on the Stanford road is left in fearful condition--almost dangerous." He also pointed out that "some people are inclined to think that a bridge shouldn't be built" there because of the proximity to the one on the Somerset Road. To that point of view, he rhetorically asked, "What difference in having bread and meat in two hundred yards from you and a thousand miles if you were only allowed to see that which is close and could not get to it." The first hint of progress, lacking in detail and cryptic though it were, came in the Vester newsletter published two weeks later, in which the correspondent ended his (or her) missive thus: "Hurrah for the bridge. We think it is a 'sure go' since our friend Mr. Gideon Burton has become interested, as he is a man of influence, and his position financially is such that he could span many of the Adair County streams with a bridge, if he desires. So of course we will be successful in obtaining the bridge."(When Mr. Burton, a Civil War veteran, passed not quite a year later, one mention of his death referred to him as "a prosperous citizen" and another, this one in the Vester newsletter a week later, stated, "He leaves a large family and a good estate.") On the morning of Wednesday, April 8, 1903, with County Judge T.A. Murrell and six of the seven Magistrates in attendance and buoyed by the full-throated backing of four of the Magistrates, "the Fiscal Court decided to build an iron bridge over Russell's Creek on the Stanford road..." Added The News, "[This] opens up travel to a large number of our citizens who have heretofore been hindered and hampered by said creek." The four fully in favor of the project were James Jackson England, William Cyrus Wolford, John Eubank, and Samuel Porter Sullivan. Of the other three members of the Fiscal Court present, County Judge Murrell "did not believe the bridge should be built at this time;" William Henry Kemp "came in on the proposition in the 11th hour;" and William Biggs opposed the bridge. Still, in answer to the call for a unanimous decision, all three of the latter-named gentlemen cast an "aye" vote. The seventh Magistrate, William Crawford Loy, lay abed, too sick to attend; he passed some two months later from "pulmonary trouble," i.e., tuberculosis. Getting down to the particulars, The News stated, "The Court let the contract for its building to the Champion Bridge Company, Wilmington, Ohio, for $2,400, to be completed by the 15th of October, 1903." (An article accompanying the attached photo reported the length of the bridge itself as 131 feet with the approaches adding another 80 feet to the span.) To help cover the expenses, "The people in the community who are to receive the bridge made a good faith effort to secure a supplemental fund and made bond to the Fiscal Court to pay $550.00 when said bridge is completed." James Garnett, Jr., then serving as County Attorney, "was selected bridge commissioner and executed a good bond for the faithful performance of duty as required by law." Hardly had the news been made public when Jo Nat Conover contributed to the cause in the form of five silver dollars. And too, L.B. (Lucien Bowen) Hurt, described as "one of the best farmers in this part of the county" and formerly opposed to the Stanford Road project, announced shortly after its approval "that he never felt better to see any proposition successful." The next two months dragged by with no real updates, but in mid-June, C.S. Harris informed readers of The News that "We are informed that the bridge...will be erected in July or August" and sent out a clarion call for subscriptions to be promptly paid, pointedly stating "We want to be ready to pay the amount agreed upon when the bridge is completed." A similar call for subscription payments appeared in several subsequent issues of the paper. Still, July came and went, as did August, with no news and certainly no bridge. Finally, in early September, the long-awaited announcement arrived: Champion had shipped the bridge materials and the paper proclaimed, "it will likely be completed by the 25th of this month." And with that, Editor C.S. Harris, whose farm lay just beyond the ford, renewed the call for all who had subscribed to come forward at once and make good on their pledges. The following week's paper, bearing a cover date of September 16, reported that "nearly all the bridge material" had arrived and predicted "much of the work will be done this week" with the completion date still expected around the 25th. In a related matter, the next edition of The News stated, "In a few days, work on the road from the town limits to the two bridges on the creek will be pushed;" that is, first, properly graded, then covered with "a heavy coat of gravel by the people of the town and those who live in that section." Continued the piece, which was part news, part opinion, "The building of bridges and the making of good roads are having a wholesome effect on our county." The September 25 completion date proved a little optimistic, as the September 23 edition of the paper noted, "The bridge across Russell's creek at the mouth of Disappointment will be completed in about 10 days," and the call for pledge payments came yet again. (For those From Off who have not yet attended the Adair Assimilation Academy, Disappointment and Bull Rull were different names for the same watercourse.) The bridge itself was completed either at the very end of the month or in the earliest days of October, and The News proclaimed, "in a few more days the road and approaches will be completed, then the raging floods will not hinder anyone desiring to cross at that place." The article went on to remind readers this was the fourth bridge put up in Adair County in as many years and remarked, "Money spent in building good, substantial bridges is placed to serve both the present and future generations..." Just days later, the Fiscal Court accepted the bridge and paid Champion for the work, and the paper opined it to be the best one yet put up by the county. The curtain came down on the Stanford Road bridge project with this brief announcement in the October 21, 1903 of The News, directed at those who had pledged monies toward the bridge but had not yet ponied up: "All parties who have not paid their subscriptions to the bridge are requested to call on C.S. Harris and settle at an early date. The bridge has been completed, accepted by the Fiscal court and the bondsmen paid off the $550.00. They need the remainder as they paid in advance for you. Call as early as possible and settle." An addendum: The Champion Bridge Company The Champion Bridge Company, originally known as The Champion Iron Bridge and Manufacturing Co., was formed in 1872 and incorporated in 1878. It continues in operation today in Wilmington, Ohio. "The majority of the business is supplying structural steel to general contractors in Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus." (Information taken from the company website at www.championbridgecompany.com; retrieved 04 April 2024.) The Stanford Road span was the fourth bridge erected by Champion in Adair County, the first three being the ones at Plum Point and Milltown in 1900, and the one on the Somerset Road in 1902. The agreed-upon price for the latter was $1,935, with completion by November 1902. In the spring of 1911, a contract finally was let -- again to Champion -- for a structure across Green River at Old Neatsville. Champion presented two options, one for $3,100 and the other (for a heavier structure) for $3,700; The News didn't indicate which the Fiscal Court chose. In early January1912 came word "The steel bridge across Green river at old Neatsville has been completed and received [by the Adair County Fiscal Court]." In May 1912, the company won its sixth Adair County contract in twelve years, this time for "an iron bridge to span Russell's Creek at the Birk [Burk] Ford, near Columbia, on "the lower Greensburg Road," for a consideration of $1,960. During the 1900 - 1914 era, Champion also erected at least four--and likely more--bridges in counties adjoining Adair, to-wit: one across Big Renox Creek, four miles from Burkesville, Cumberland County; one across the Green River at Dunnville, Casey County; and two (a one-lane span across Green River and a footbridge across Goose Creek), at Greensburg, Green County, Kentucky. This story was posted on 2024-04-07 09:32:10
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More articles from topic Jim: History:
Thumbnail Word-Sketch: C.S. Harris, 1861-1935 Thanksgiving activities 1938 Haulin' the mail (1858 style) Some (mostly) front page advertising, mid-October, 1928 Massie and Montgomery sign $10 bill in local collection Columbia and Adair Co.: buzzing and booming, September 1902 Rays of sunshine in the shadows of the Great Depression 100 Years Ago: Goings-on in early September 1923 News, deals, and help wanted, mid-August 1973 Nu-Art Studio, August 1943 View even more articles in topic Jim: History |
 
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