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Photo, Print, Drawing Canadian River Wagon Bridge, Spanning Canadian River West of U.S. Route 60, Canadian, Hemphill County, TX

View 8 images in sequence.
[ Photos from Survey HAER TX-41  ]

More Resources

[ Data Pages from Survey HAER TX-41  ]
[ Photo Captions from Survey HAER TX-41  ]

About this Item

Title

  • Canadian River Wagon Bridge, Spanning Canadian River West of U.S. Route 60, Canadian, Hemphill County, TX

Names

  • Historic American Engineering Record, creator
  • Canton Bridge Company
  • Texas Department of TRansportation, sponsor
  • Gruen, J. Philip, historian
  • Elliott, Joseph E. B., photographer

Created / Published

  • Documentation compiled after 1968

Headings

  • -  vehicular bridges
  • -  transportation
  • -  metal truss bridges
  • -  Texas--Hemphill County--Canadian

Notes

  • -  Significance: This 3,255'-0"-long structure is the longest pin-connected bridge in Texas, and was the state's longest metal truss bridge prior to the completion of the Rainbow Bridge connecting Orange and Port Arthur in 1938. Two previous bridges at this site built in 1888 and 1889 were washed away by floods, and after some delays, voters finally approved a 1915 initiative to build a more permanent crossing of the river. The structure completed in 1916 included seventeen 155'-0" long and 27'-0" high pin-connected Parker through trusses for a 2,635'-0" total length. The 16'-0" roadway rested atop concrete piers with steel footings driven 65'-0" into the riverbed. When high water widened the river in 1923, the county paid the Austin Bridge Company of Dallas to provide four additional Parker through trusses with the same dimensions and the same substructure. This increased the bridge's length by 620'-0". By the 1950s, the 16'-0" roadway had become too narrow to safely carry passing traffic. In 1953, a new $1 million concrete and steel structure, built with state highway funds by the Austin Bridge Company of Dallas, bypassed the original bridge. Today, the Canadian River Wagon Bridge carries a natural gas pipeline for the High Plains Natural Gas Company.
  • -  Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N535
  • -  Survey number: HAER TX-41
  • -  Building/structure dates: 1916 Initial Construction

Medium

  • Photo(s): 8
  • Data Page(s): 3
  • Photo Caption Page(s): 1

Call Number/Physical Location

  • HAER TX,106-CANA,1-

Source Collection

  • Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress)

Repository

Control Number

  • tx0767

Rights Advisory

Online Format

  • image
  • pdf

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not license or charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material.

Ultimately, it is the researcher's obligation to assess copyright or other use restrictions and obtain permission from third parties when necessary before publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the Library's collections.

For information about reproducing, publishing, and citing material from this collection, as well as access to the original items, see: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscape Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) Collection - Rights and Restrictions Information

  • Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/res/114_habs.html
  • Reproduction Number: ---
  • Call Number: HAER TX,106-CANA,1-
  • Access Advisory: ---

Obtaining Copies

If Digital Images Are Displaying

You can download online images yourself. Alternatively, you can purchase copies of various types through Library of Congress Duplication Services.

HABS/HAER/HALS materials have generally been scanned at high resolution that is suitable for most publication purposes (see Digitizing the Collection for further details about the digital images).

  • Photographs--All photographs are printed from digital files to preserve the fragile originals.
    • Make note of the Call Number and Item Number that appear under the photograph in the multiple-image display (e.g., HAER, NY,52-BRIG,4-2).
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    • Make note of the Survey Number (e.g., HAER NY - 143) and Sheet Number (e.g., "Sheet 1 of 4"), which appear on the edge of the drawing. (NOTE: These numbers are visible in the Tiff "Reference Image" display.)
    • If possible, include a printout of the drawing.
  • Data Pages
    • Make note of the Call Number in the catalog record.

If Digital Images Are Not Displaying

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  • Visit the Prints & Photographs Reading Room and request to view the group (general information about service in the reading room is available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/info/001_ref.html). It is best to contact reference staff in advance (see: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/address.html) to make sure the material is on site. OR
  • P&P reading room staff can provide up to 15 quick copies of items per calendar year (many original items in the holdings are too old or fragile to make such copies, but generally HABS/HAER/HALS materials are in good enough condition to be placed on photocopy machines). For assistance, see our Ask a Librarian page OR
  • Hire a freelance researcher to do further selection for you (a list of researchers in available at: https://aj.sunback.homes/rr/print/resource/013_pic.html).
  • You can purchase copies of various types, including quick copies, through Library of Congress Duplication Services (price lists, contact information, and order forms for Library of Congress Duplication Services are available on the Duplication Services Web site):
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Access to Originals

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  1. Is the item digitized? (A thumbnail (small) image will be visible on the left.)

    • Yes, the item is digitized. Please use the digital image in preference to requesting the original. All images can be viewed at a large size when you are in any reading room at the Library of Congress. In some cases, only thumbnail (small) images are available when you are outside the Library of Congress because the item is rights restricted or has not been evaluated for rights restrictions.
      As a preservation measure, we generally do not serve an original item when a digital image is available. If you have a compelling reason to see the original, consult with a reference librarian. (Sometimes, the original is simply too fragile to serve. For example, glass and film photographic negatives are particularly subject to damage. They are also easier to see online where they are presented as positive images.)
    • No, the item is not digitized. Please go to #2.

  2. Do the Access Advisory or Call Number fields above indicate that a non-digital surrogate exists, such as microfilm or copy prints?

    • Yes, another surrogate exists. Reference staff can direct you to this surrogate.
    • No, another surrogate does not exist. Please go to #3.
  3. If you do not see a thumbnail image or a reference to another surrogate, please fill out a call slip in the Prints and Photographs Reading Room. In many cases, the originals can be served in a few minutes. Other materials require appointments for later the same day or in the future. Reference staff can advise you in both how to fill out a call slip and when the item can be served.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, Creator, Canton Bridge Company, Sponsor Texas Department Of Transportation, and J. Philip Gruen, Elliott, Joseph E. B, photographer. Canadian River Wagon Bridge, Spanning Canadian River West of U.S. Route 60, Canadian, Hemphill County, TX. Canadian Hemphill County Texas, 1968. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/tx0767/.

APA citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, C., Canton Bridge Company, Texas Department Of Transportation, S. & Gruen, J. P., Elliott, J. E. B., photographer. (1968) Canadian River Wagon Bridge, Spanning Canadian River West of U.S. Route 60, Canadian, Hemphill County, TX. Canadian Hemphill County Texas, 1968. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/tx0767/.

MLA citation style:

Historic American Engineering Record, Creator, et al., photographer by Elliott, Joseph E. B. Canadian River Wagon Bridge, Spanning Canadian River West of U.S. Route 60, Canadian, Hemphill County, TX. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/tx0767/>.