| Marker Number |
5499 |
| Atlas Number |
5497005499 |
| Marker Title |
Toll Bridge & Old Bridgeport |
| Index Entry |
Toll Bridge & Old Bridgeport |
| Address |
FM 920 and Trinity River Bridge |
| City |
Bridgeport |
| County |
Wise |
| UTM Zone |
14 |
| UTM Easting |
613336 |
| UTM Northing |
3673599 |
| Subject Codes |
cities and towns; bridges; roads |
| Marker Year |
1972 |
| Recorded Texas Historic Landmark |
No |
| Marker Location |
FM 920 and Trinity River Bridge, just west of Bridgeport. |
| Private Property |
No |
| Marker Condition |
In Situ |
| Marker Size |
28" x 18" |
| Marker Text |
When Butterfield Overland Mail traversed this area (1858-61) on St. Louis to San Francisco route, a crossing over West Fork of the Trinity was a necessity. Colonel W. H. Hunt on February 11, 1860, obtained a charter and built a toll bridge here (50 yards west). The Overland Mail ceased operating as Civil War began. The bridge soon collapsed. However, a settlement had begun here, and in 1873 Charles Cates, a Decatur merchant, spanned the river with an iron bridge. When the Rock Island Railroad built to this point in 1893, town moved but retained historic name. (1972) |
