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Page 5
Retrospect July, August, September 2003
BRIDGES
(Continued from page 2)
questions raised by the Board
members-Ms. Lisa Hart, Super-
visor of the Historical Studies
Branch of the Environmental Af-
fairs Division, and Dr. Mario San-
chez, Historical Architect.
The Historical Bridges and
Structures Committee of the
DCHC, chaired by Mrs. Mildred
Hawk, was represented by Dr. Ry-
nell Novak.
Both of the bridges are slated
to be moved to new locations in the
county in a few months for use by
pedestrian traffic. Based on state
and federal guidelines, the DCHC
will need to make another appear-
ance at the Board of Review before
the bridges are moved with a re-
quest that the bridges remain on the
National Register after relocation.
At that time, information
about the relocation and pictures of
the proposed sites will need to be
presented.
DCHC and Denton County
Public Works will be working with
the intended recipients and TxDOT
on the relocations and preparation
of the information needed for the
next presentations. ,-
PROGRESS
(Continued from page 3)
cypress were being installed. The
work is tricky because there is no
need for caulking since the cypress
doesn't rot, and so the windows
have to fit perfectly. The cypress is
being taken from submerged logs
at Caddo Lake.
The contractor, Joe R. Jones
Construction Co. of Weatherford,
has restored five courthouses previ-
ously. He has 289 days to finish
the $2.5 million job, with the dead-
line date in early November. He
will pay $250 per day for any days
over the limit.
Jim Heath, the Historical Com-
mission member monitoring the
work, said he is confident the job
will stay on schedule barring any
unusual problems.
Heath expects the Museum and
other county offices to be back in
the courthouse before Christmas,
but not much earlier than that.
(See other articles in this issue related
to the moving of the county offices
and the Museum.) *
OLD ALTON
(Continued from page 1)
The wonderful Old Alton
Bridge was named to the National
Register of Historic Places soon
after its 104th birthday in 1988. It
was deemed significant for its ar-
chitecture and engineering design
and the importance that truss
bridges held for our nation's road
and railway transportation, specifi-
cally between 1875 and 1899.
In 1997 the county closed the
bridge after it was determined to be
unsafe for vehicular traffic. In 1998
more than $117,000 was spent
renovating the bridge. Once again
threatened in 2000, a number of
groups joined efforts to ensure it
was saved a second time.
The bridge was restored with
plans prepared by engineers
Binkley and Barfield, Inc.
Guard rails were added on the
bridge approaches and steel lattice
was added to the sides to prevent
pedestrians from falling from the
bridge. The bridge was repainted
and refinished. All work was per-
formed under the direction of the
Denton County Commissioners
Court, the DCHC and the Texas
Historical Commission.
Before restoration the structure
had a rotten wood deck and falling
abutments. Several secondary sup-
ports had been damaged by auto
collisions. BBI's restoration in-
cluded replacing the deck, install-
ing additional wooden curbing,
repairing or replacing the damaged
supports and shoring the abutments
with tiebacks and deadmen (ground
support attachments).
King Iron and Bridge Manu-
facturing Company of Cleveland,
Ohio built the Old Alton Pratt truss
bridge in 1884. It is the last remain-
ing bridge of its kind in Denton
County. It also lays claim to being
one of the few standing truss
bridges in the nation that uses cast
iron link eye bars in its tension bot-
tom cords. *
Denton County
Historical Commission
Howard Smith-Chairman
Peggy Capps-1st Vice Chairman
Pat Muro- 2nd Vice Chairman
Jim Heath-Recording Secretary
Beth Stribling-Corresponding
Secretary
Sue-Beall Shaffer-Financial
Secretary
Rynell Novak-Member-at-Large
David Sparks-Member-at-Large
Nita Watkins-Member-at-Large
The Denton County Historical
Commission is dedicated to the
preservation and appreciation of
the unique history of Denton
County. This newsletter is pub-
lished quarterly. Please send in-
formation and articles for the
newsletter to Roslyn Shelton
(roslyn.shelton@dentoncounty.
com), or Rynell Novak (rsnovak@
juno.com).
