Details for Carpenters Bluff Bridge

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5181012812

Data

Marker Number 12812
Atlas Number 5181012812
Marker Title Carpenters Bluff Bridge
Index Entry Carpenters Bluff Bridge
Address 5220 Carpenters Bluff Road
City Denison
County Grayson
UTM Zone 14
UTM Easting 739689
UTM Northing 3738059
Subject Codes bridges; railroads
Marker Year 2002
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location Carpenters Bluff Road, south of FM 120
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Text Originally built as a railroad bridge for the Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf (MO&G) Line, this landmark structure across the Red River continues to provide a transportation route between Grayson County, Texas, and Bryan County, Oklahoma. MO&G officials determined they needed a line through Grayson County to connect there with other railways in order to secure better freight rates for their shipments from the Oklahoma coal mines. The new line, under construction by 1910, entered Texas via this bridge at the small community known as Carpenters Bluff. Completed in the late summer of 1910, the Carpenters Bluff Bridge was designed to withstand major floods such as the one in 1908 that had destroyed several area bridges. Its design also included a wagon shelf, an extra lane to serve travelers on foot and horseback, as well as horse-drawn vehicles, all of whom had to pay a toll for its use. In 1921, ownership passed to the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway Co., which maintained the line until 1965, when the company ceased operations in Texas due to declining rail traffic. The Texas & Pacific Railroad maintained the bridge for a brief time and then deeded it to the counties of Grayson and Bryan. County commissioners agreed to convert the structure for vehicular traffic, and upon completion of that work, the bridge was opened as a free public thoroughfare. Spanning the Red River since 1910, the Carpenters Bluff Bridge remains a significant part of Grayson County's history. (2002)
ATLAS_NUM=5181012812

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