Peggy Smith-Hake's
"Window to the Past"
BRIDGE CELEBRATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY
by Peggy Smith Hake​
​(From: THE NEW IBERIAN newspaper, dated 3 Nov 1983.....)
(Printed in THE MILLER COUNTY AUTOGRAM-SENTINEL in the column, 'WINDOW TO THE PAST', April, 2013)
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It was a beautiful Indian summer day on a Saturday in October 1933 and the weatherman decreed a perfect forecast for the dedication of the county's new state highway bridge spanning the mighty Osage river... ​​It was not the first bridge to cross this river but was the most modern structure of its kind all those years ago. The cost of the construction of this fine new bridge was $145,000... 96 years after the organization of the county. It was quite a 'heyday' for Tuscumbia on that October afternoon in 1933. At the dedication ceremonies, Missouri's governor, Guy Parks, delivered a speech at Riverside Park to a crowd estimated at over 5,000 persons. There were 32 dignitaries in attendance including congressmen, representatives, county officials and state employees.
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The celebration began at 11 a.m. with a parade. It began at the school and proceeded on to the new bridge site. School bands from Tuscumbia, Eldon, and California led the parade. Following behind the school bands, a car bearing Missouri license No. 1 was observed as Governor Parks greeted and waved to the huge crowds who lined the parade route. The Bible tells us a wonderful story of how Jesus fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 3 fishes, but the folks in charge of the bar-b-que for the bridge dedication festivities had much more difficulty feeding approximately 5,000 people with 3,000 pounds of beef, pork, and mutton and many loaves of bread!
The cooks prepared 59 lambs, 800 pounds of beef, and 500 pounds of spareribs. One beef was donated by county collector, William C. Brumley. He and Lafe King, the sheriff, butchered the yearling on the night before the celebration. Some of the bread was donated by Jefferson City Baking Company; coffee was donated by the H. D. Lee Mercantile Co.; cream was contributed by the Walker and Weeks store and the Blue Grass Valley dairy.​
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The erection of the bridge across the Osage river was the important link in completion of Highway 17 and was a great benefit and convenience to the traveling public and especially to the people of Miller County. In 1921, the state legislature passed Missouri's Centennial Road Law establishing a great state highway system and a bond issue was passed in the amount of $60 million for financing these roads. This gave the residents of Miller County a hope for a free, modern bridge at Tuscumbia.
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​The legislature had designated two routes (Highway 17 and Highway 52) as intersecting at Tuscumbia with Hwy. 17 crossing the river. Businessmen across the county gathered in Jefferson City and met with representatives of the highway department to request a new bridge across the Osage. Our two county representatives, Charles O. Short in 1921 and Fred Spearman in a later term, were very instrumental in getting the bond issues passed which helped to build our Osage river bridge.​
A contract for the new bridge was let on November 4, 1932, when Industrial Construction Co. of St. Louis was awarded the job. Work began very quickly with the first concrete poured on January 25, 1933. By April, 104 men were employed on this job and it was a tremendous effort made jointly by engineers, draftsmen, foremen, and common laborers who gave this bridge it's remarkable construction.
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The bridge was 1080 feet long; the main span over the river was 400 foot supported by 3 piers; the highest pier on the southside was 120 feet from bedrock to the top of the cap. In June 1933, the river reached a flood stage of 23 feet and took out 120 feet of the bridge under construction at the time.
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One fatal accident occurred during construction. On July 23, 1933, Avery Baucom of Eldon, a steel worker, fell from the top of one of the piers in midstream. He had only been on the job for 30 minutes when he fell to his death. Other interesting facts concerning the bridge included: there were 200 carloads of sand and gravel hauled in; 16 carloads of cement; 1,141 pounds of structural steel used; 24,700 pounds of castings and bearings; 249,870 pounds of re-inforced steel; 2,700 lineal feet of creosote pilings and 4,435 lineal feet of gas pipe and handrails.
On the day of dedication, Saturday, October 23, 1933, Squire John Ferguson, one of the county's oldest residents (95 years old) was honored and he told how he first came up the Osage river on a flat boat manned by two men with oars and a third man at the stern of the boat. ​​He expressed how fortunate he was to have lived to see the complete transition from flat-boat ferry to cable ferry and from suspension bridge to a modern bridge of steel and concrete.
The old bridge, which was a toll bridge built​​ in 1905, was dismantled shortly after the new bridge was opened to traffic and it became only a memory.
There are many county residents, such as I, who never saw the old suspension toll bridge which was located a few hundred yards downriver from the new bridge (built in 1933). I have seen photos and paintings of the old bridge. It was quite unique and has a rich history of its own..........