This is a single suspension bridge from the Bridgemeister historical inventory of suspension bridges.

1927: Durant-Bonham

Bonham vicinity, Fannin County, Texas and Yuba/Durant vicinity, Oklahoma, USA - Red River
Bridgemeister ID:603 (added 2003-01-11)
Year Completed:1927
Name:Durant-Bonham
Also Known As:Sowell's Bluff
Location:Bonham vicinity, Fannin County, Texas and Yuba/Durant vicinity, Oklahoma, USA
Crossing:Red River
Principals:Austin Bridge Co.
References:AUB, PTS2
Use:Vehicular
Status:Collapsed, 1934
Main Cables:Wire (steel)

Notes:

  • According to a rootsweb article (Fannin County TXGenWeb - Ferry's in Fannin County, from Pat Pryor, by Kathy J. Ellis), "when in 1932 this bridge fell, many people said that acid had been put on the cables to break them so that people from Oklahoma could not cross to Bonham." However, the true date of collapse may have been in 1934. The February 2, 1934 issue of The Daily Oklahoman has a front-page article with a photo of the bridge with collapsed deck. The photo is captioned: "The Red River Bridge on Highway 22 Near Durant After the Midnight Crash," and the article reads: "Here Is the debris of a $60,000 investment made by the states of Oklahoma and Texas eight months ago when they purchased the Bonham-Durant bridge across the Red river on highway 22. Three of the five spans of the 1,500-foot suspension bridge turned upside down and dropped into the river bed when a four-Inch wire cable rusted and broke in two about 15 feet from the ground on the Texas side. A lull in the usual heavy traffic across the bridge prevented accidents. The crash came at midnight, and one motorist had barely reached the Texas side when the cable gave away. Other motorists stopped their cars just in time to witness the spans of the bridge crash 40 feet into the stream. The bridge was built in 1926 and was operated as a toll bridge until 1933 when the two states bought it and made it a free crossing."
  • In the October 1989 edition of the Oklahoma Water News an article (excerpted from an article in The Chronicles of Oklahoma by Dr. Bernice N. Crockett) states: "On January 15, 1934, a norther of terrific force came up which cause the Sowell's Bluff Bridge to fall. At 1 a.m. the wire cables on the Fannin side of the river became twisted, then snapped, broken in half, and the entire massive structure fell into the river below -- a complete wreck."

Do you have any information or photos about this bridge that you would like to share? Please email david.denenberg@bridgemeister.com.


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