Clear Fork of the Brazos River Suspension Bridge. (original) (raw)

One of the oldest suspension bridges in Texas, this bridge was requested by residents of Young, Shakleford and Throckmorton counties who wanted (and needed) a crossing closer than the bridge at Fort Griffin.

	Clear Fork of the Brazos River Suspension Bridge Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone

	Another view of the Clear Fork of the Brazos River Suspension Bridge Photo courtesy Erik Whetstone

The bidding was opened on March 1st, 1896 and the contact was awarded to the Fluice-Moyers Company of Weatherford. The span was to be 140 feet, suspended 40 feet above the river by stone piers.

The cost was approximately $4,500 and the bridge was "delivered" in June of 1896. The only visible changes immediately apparent are the piers being covered in concrete.

The bridge with additional details of its construction are included in T. Lindsay Baker's Building the Lone Star, available (on demand) from Texas A & M Press. Building the Lone Star was our source for the above information.

Photographer's Note:

The Regency suspension bridge information states that it's one of eight remaining suspension bridges.

When I was out in Stephens county I came across one that is on a dirt road. I had started on FM 2850 in Throckmorton, and because of my map, expected it to dead end before it crossed the county line. The dirt road ended up connecting to 283 in Shackelford county a couple of miles south of Fort Griffin State Park. Looking at my maps, the bridge is either over the Clear fork of the Brazos, Collins Creek or it's over Foyle Creek. I didn't notice any markers for the creek, and I didn't see any markers on the bridge, other than the condemned sign that are posted at each end. I'm sure this was a bridge built for access to Fort Griffin. I was just wondering if it was one of the eight other bridges or if this would be number nine. - Erik Whetstone, February 10, 2004