The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1882-01-27
THE GREAT IRON RAILROAD
BRIDGE.
Particulars for Reference By-and-By
..Ae Bonnie BrIg o. Modern Time,''

18IlCN11t4CS 1NT AClttCAASo oy ssAnueoys
stAe Bonnie BrIg o. Modern Timea''
AS far back as 1850 the building of
a railroad from the Mississippi river
opposite Vicksburg, at a point chris
tened DeSoto, now cut off blythe inter-
vening flood of the great river, by way
of Monroe and Shreveport to the Texas
line, was agitated by the press and In
public meetings of the people interest
ed in the enterprise. A company was
organized to this end in 1852 and char
tered in 1853. The first president of
the company was Col. N. d. Coleman,
ging exertlons the new project more
than to any other one man owed its in
ception and permanent organization.
His successor was DIR. G. G. Young,
himself man of great energy who
brought to the undertaking wise and
prudent head. Mr.. w. NJ. Wadley,
from the position of general superin-
tendent, was called to succeed DIR.
Young, and was president of the road
at the time of it's destruction by the
Federa1s in 1864.
Work began on the road in the Fall
of 1858, but the road was not completed
to Monroe, distance of seventy-three
miles, until January, 1860. In the
summer of 1851 the Ouachita was
bridged by the company at this point
with wooden structure, erected on
piles, with draw mid-channel built of
wood, swinging on an oblong pier
formed of cypress timbers boarded in
and resting ON piles driven about fiji
teen feet beneath the bed of the river.
Some of these piles were pulled up last
summer, and were found perfect and
sound throughout. The failure to build
a breal-water provided for in the plans
to protect the draw pier, resulted in the
water securing away the sand around
the piles on which the draw rested, and
that portion of the bridge toppled away
into the river. The spans remaining
retained their positions until destroyed
In 1868 by Gen. Burbridge who came
out from the Mississippi to this point on
a raid, and at whose approach the boys
in grey, Gen. Blanchard in command,
as we arc informed, stampeded tc
the mountains and slopes about Wien.
ma, some thirty miles away, where they
rallied and formed camps of instruc.
ton and gathered tithes. IL we arc
not mistaken, our old Associate, the
present Governor of tho State, was in
tho ha0ira aS n ~
service, and can describe with inimita-
BILE humor and zest tho retreat over the
mountains and through the passes
hence to Vienna.
Not following the fortunes of the
road through successive changes, us we
are dealing only with the bridge across
the Ouachita, we come to the letting of
the contract for crectinga wrought-iron
bridge over the Ouachita by the COM
pany of which Col. Ed. Richardson
was president and Of which the Erlan-
ger syndicate made purchase. The con-
tract was awarded Col. c. Shaler Smith,
of st. Louis, for about $l44 900, the OK
act sum not being known to us.
THE suB-sTRuCrURE.
The first work done was getting out
the piles. These arc of oak give kinds,
hickory and pine, and We're cut near
this place and along tho railroad near
Delhi. They were required to be
straight, FREQ from blemishes, about
sixty feet in length and not under &
foot in diameter mt the small end. Wher
sharpened at this end, squared at The
butt and all projections removed, the
piles were in readiness for the pils
driver.
Excavation for the eastern abutment
piers was commenced in November
1880, by Mr.. Thos. Rogers, of the st
Louis firm of Rogers & Sculiy, who
had been awarded by Col. Smith the
masonry work of the bridge. Owing
to the high stage of water very little
work was done during the follow ing
winter
When the excavation for the abut-
ment piers had reached a certain depth,
section or two of the huge iron cyliu-