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A number of bridges have been built over Salado Creek on Main Street since 1870. After the town of Salado was laid out in 1859, citizens crossed the creek using various combinations of rocks and logs. When local citizens and students at Salado College began to demand that a proper bridge be constructed across the creek, town officials voted to issue bonds to fund the project. The first bridge, built in 1868-69, was constructed by local volunteers. The cable wire suspension footbridge, with cedar crossbars and a wooden plank floor, was destroyed in a 1900 flood. The second bridge, a larger structure which would accommodate wagon as well as foot travel, was an iron bridge built by the King Bridge Company in 1892. Located a few yards west of the suspension footbridge, it rested on piers of rock and mortar, and was destroyed in a flood in 1913. Replaced a year later, the duplicate bridge was washed away in a 1921 flood. A concrete bridge was built across the creek in 1922. Anchored with reinforced steel set into the rock creek bed, it proved to be a more permanent solution than previous efforts to bridge the stream and continues to be a focal point in the town. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1936 |
