| A horseman galloped from
the shadows of a forest into a sunlit clearing where the trail
bisected a stream. Suddenly he halted his horse. The
path ahead ran straight into the dark tunnel of a covered
bridge and, as every Missourian of a century ago, he knew that
covered bridges were haunted. But this was the only way
to cross; so, with a shout and a slap on his horse’s flank,
he galloped toward the window of light at the other end. The
horseman was halfway through before he saw it, but then it was
too late and he crashed into a body hanging by a rope from the
rafters. Stories such as this were common in the days
when the Missouri countryside was dotted with covered bridges. Then,
old-timers say, it wasn’t unusual for one to be used as a
convenient gallows. Today there are only seven known
covered bridges standing in all of Missouri. It is
remarkable that even these few remain since most were built
around a century ago.
Two about an hour’s
drive from Columbia, still are used for daily traffic. Both
are in Monroe County and both span the Elk fork of the Salt
River. The Mexico bridge is about three miles south of
Route 154 near Paris and the Union bridge is just off Route C,
a few miles south of where it joins Route 24. These
bridges are thought to have been built around 1858 along with
three others in the Paris area. Robert Elliott, and
Illinois craftsman, charged about $2, 500 each to build them. His
men used local timber and probably worked during the winter
when they could build scaffolds on the frozen stream. “The
construction of covered bridges was a masterful engineering
feat,” says Cecil Evans, Monroe County highway engineer. “An
arch holds the whole thing up and there are no supports in the
middle. The reason the bridges were covered was to
protect this structure from weathering.”
It’s true that the
roofs did protect the timbers and probably account for the
bridges lasting so long, but in the memories of old-time
Missourians, this was only a minor function. A covered
bridge provided ideal relief from a hot, summer day or shelter
from a sudden storm. You never knew whom you would meet
at the bridge and some strange acquaintances must have
resulted. Because they were always dark inside, many of
the bridges were believed to be haunted. At some of the
more infamous ones, even the bravest of travelers would whip
their horses at the entrance and breathe sighs of relief as
the raced out the other end. Ghost storied didn’t seem
to bother romantic couples who used the bridges in place of
drive-in theaters, says R.I. (Si) Colburn, editor of the
Monroe County Appeal. “And they could hear
intruders coming down the road from either direction.”
Colburn’s father, a
Baptist minister, used the bridge for quite a different
reason. In summer or winter he held outdoor baptisms and
the congregation could watch him and the initiates from the
shelter of the bridge. “I have a picture of my father
and 14 persons standing in a hole in the ice. The
congregation, in their fur coats and beaver hats, were peering
through holes in the side of the bridge.” Colburn adds:
“The covered bridge was ideal at flood time because people
could still cross the river to see their neighbors. During
the winter birds lived in them and rafters were covered with
barn swallow nests.”
The bridges are not
strong enough for much for today’s traffic and rapidly are
deteriorating. “The school bus used the Union bridge
occasionally,” Evans say, “but when it does, the kids get
out and walk.” The problem, he says, is that the county
cannot afford to restore the bridges nor to replace them:
“We need them for daily traffic, although they can’t last
many more years.” Colburn is one of apparently few
persons interested in the old bridges and has led a campaign
for state aid to restore them. “State Rep. Richard
Southern has gotten $3,500 appropriated for the upkeep of the
stat’s seven bridges. This is only a drop in the
bucket, but it’s a start.
In 1968, the Middle
Forks bridge was swept away in a flood. If local citizens
had been more quick-thinking they would have knocked holes in
the bride’s sides so the water could have flowed through. “But
people around here and in the whole state don’t seem to
realize the historical and financial value of these
bridges.” Colburn says that 3 ˝ million tourists
yearly will visit Monroe County when the Cannon Dam project is
completed in 1973. “The bridges will be a big
attraction, if they’re still standing and tourist facilities
will have to be improved.”
Even today the Monroe
County bridges and the state’s other five attract many
visitors. When they walk into the cool shadow of the
wooden tunnel and hear the beams creak beneath their feet,
it’s not hard for them to understand how their grandparents
might have imagined ghosts. Some notice the
heart-entwined initials carved on the sides of the Antiseptic
Healing Oil sign that could be read at only a horse and buggy
pace. For Missourians interested in the past, these seven
covered bridges are relics from another age. They stand,
not in museums, but just as they did a century ago, rare
survivors of the surge of progress.
Source: Article by John
Trage on page 30 of the 04 Mar 1966 edition of the Columbia Missourian
at http://newspapers.umsystem.edu/archive/.
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