Galveston Tribune. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 148, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 16, 1912 Page: 83 of 85
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CAUSEWAY EDITION.
GrALYESTOi^ TRIBUNE; section eleven.
r
Old County Bridge A cross in 1893
Structure Had Been Planned For Many Years and
Marked New Era in Progress of .
History of Its Construction
Full of I.
The formal opening of the great
Galveston causeway, which Is sched-
uled for the month of May, will prob-
ably bring to the minds of many of
Galveston’s older citizens the opening
of the wagon bridge across the bay,
which took place on Nov. 15, 1893, and
Mr. John Caplen, who was one of the
four first men to cross that viaduct,
is still living in this county.
The idea of a bridge connecting the
island with the mainland had its birth
as far back at 1S43, when a business
firm of this city (McKinney & Wil-
liams) obtained a charter for the .con-
struction of a bridge across the bay.
The work, however, was never started,
Commerce is in favor of the county
contracting for the use of a free wag-
on bridge to the mainland, provided it
shall be done within the limit of the
law, and that the secretary be in-
structed to notify the county judge
and county commissioners of the
adoption of said resolution.”
Both the Galveston Tribune and-the
Galveston News had conducted voting
contests with a view of'learning the
wishes of the people, and the vote was
overwhelmingly in favor of the con-
struction of a wagon bridge. The
commissioners let the matter lie* over
until the following day, and then, on
a motion of Commissioner Reifel, an
during the incumbency of Judge Wil-
liam B.’ Lockheart, his successor, Judge
Sidney S. Hanscom, who was elected in
1892, gave the completion of the work
his personal -attention. The- bridge,
when finally completed, cost the coun-
ty $191,980.75.
The .bridge was eleven months in
building. The total length, including
approaches, was 11,309.5 feet, or some-
thing over two miles. It was at the
time of its completion the second long-
est bridge in tke United States, the
trestle bridge over Lake Pontchartrain
near New Orleans, being the only
longer structure. The bridge was 18
feet wade had 90 steel spans of 80 feet
Fred McC. Nichols, Frank D. Harrar
and C. F. Bowerfind. Fred Nichols had
ordered an ox team down from Dick-
inson, and was waiting for it to ar-
rive so as to cross the bridge with
this ancient conveyance. While this
party conversed about the bridge, anu
what it meant for Galveston, John
Caplen drove up from the island side
with a newspaper -representative, and
he laid .claim to be the first man
across the bridge, although the two
horsemen had preceded him, but had
not made the entire distance over the
bridge ahead of him.
The big Galveston bay bridge be-
came popular from the day of its open-
ing and was, until the time of its de-
struction, one of the most potent fac-
tors in the building up of the main-
land, while at the same time it gave
the people of Galveston opportunity
for purchasing country supplies* right
from the wagons of tht farmers, who
made it a point to come to town with
a load of produce at least once a we^k.
It gave the retail trade of the city an
impetus as well, for those who came
to sell produce usually returned home
11 it i l
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Looking Toward Island From Draw
(Continued from page 1.)
the tuition paid by the patrons was in-
suffiicent to secure teachers. The next
effort was made by the Episcopal
Church through its rector, Rev. Eaton,
who obtained four lots adjoining the
church and erected a hall for a male
school. It was a failure for the same
reasons as were given for the publiG
school. The lots reverted back to the
company and are now the site of the
new Episcopal Church. Several other
efforts were made with similar results.
The first effort that seemed to meet
with any success was that made by the
Catholic Church Nunder the supervision
of Bishop Odin, who offered to accept
the donation offered by the Galveston
City Company for a certain block for
a college and to fulfill the conditions
of that grant. The result was the
erection of the building commonly
known as the Catholic College. Under
the efficient head a few years later a
female school in the Ursuline Convent
was established and maintained. But
those did not meet the fast growing de-
mands of the city, and as the old prob-
lem of securing efficient teachers had
been solved, by having residing in the
city two young ladies-who had already
established their reputation as teachers,
Mr. Allen Lewis, a member of the
Methodist Church, made a very suc-
cessful effort and established a semin-
ary which grew to be one of the best
in all the South. The county court at-
tempted to remedy the deficiency by
putting into effect a general school
law, but it proved utterly ineffective,
so far as any good was concerned.
School sites were laid off in the va-
rious wards of the city, but there were
no public schools established at the
time of the war.
The St. Marys Cathedral was erected
during the years 1847-1848 by Bishop
J. M. Odin at a cost of $25,000. The
St. Marys University, situated In an
airy part of the city, was founded a
few years later under the patronage
of the same worthy man. The Ursu-
line Convent was founded in 1847 by the
Ursulines of New Orleans for the pur-
pose of instructing the female children
of all denominations.
There were eleven church in Galves-
ton during the ’50s. They included the
Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presby-
teian, German Lutheran, German Meth-
OFFICE: 2113 Mechanic St.
Telephone 103
YARD: 18th Street and Wharf
Telephaee 800
COAL WHOLESALE AND RETjAIL COAL
E. 0. FLOOD <& CO.
WE SUPPLY
Households, Factories, Foundries. Blacksmiths, Railroads, Interior
Dealers, Steamships, Etc.
ALL KINDS FOR ALL USES
Cable Address: "FLOOD”
GALVESTON, TEXAS
\
HENRY reujeusc
Importer, Wholesale and Retail Dealer in
Fine Wines, Liquors,
Cigars and
Delicatessen
42! and 423 Tremont Street
Telephone 44 GALVESTON, TEXAS
it being found too costly a project for
the limited number of people then liv-
ing on the island and the adjacent
mainland. Several times between the
year mentioned and 1890 the proposi-
tion was revived and then permitted to
return to sleep, but in the last year
inamed the construction of a wagon
bridge across Galveston bay became a
campaign slogan, and Judge William
B. Lockhart, who was a candidate for
the office of county judge .promised
-the people that if he was elected he
would undertake the building of the
bridge. Public sentiment was all in
favor of the idea, and the judge was
voted into office.
Judge Lockhart kept faith with those
who had placed him at the head of the
board of county commissioners, and in
tlie spring of 1891, aided and abetted
by a number of influential citizens, a
campaign of education was entered
upon and vigorously prosecuted until
Sept. 14 of that year, when the matter
Came before the county board, the en-
tire session of that day being devoted
to the consideration of the project,
and at this meeting Mr. Robert Mc-
Culloch, the spokesman for a commit-
tee of citizens, presented a petition
bearing the names. of 3,384 taxpayers
asking that the bridge be built.
Mr. McCulloch’s petition from the
taxpayers was supplemented by a
resolution adopted by the Galveston
Chamber of Commerce, reading as fol-
lows:
“Resolved, That the Chamber of
order was passed committing the
county to the work.
BIDS OPENED.
On Monday, Sept. 21, 1891, bids were
opened for the construction work, but
Engineer B. M. Temple, to whom had
been referred the different bids, re-
ported that the hid of the Missouri
Valley Bridge and Iron Works was the
best, but exceeded the maximum price,
and he declined to recommend its ac-
ceptance. The matter then took a pe-
riod of rest until Feb. 8, 1892, when
at a meeting of the commissioners a
proposition was submitted by a num-
ber of citizens for a combination rail-
road and wagon bridge. This did not
meet with popular favor. On Thurs-
day, Feb. 11, the county commission-
ers adopted an order providing for the
issuance of $175,000 bonds for the con-
struction of bridges for public use,
and on April 14, 1892, Judge Lockhart,
for the county commissioners, and Mr.
A. J. Tulloek, for the Missouri Valley
Bridge and Iron Works, signed a con-
tract for the construction of the bridge
for the sum of $175,000, the contractor
giving a bond for $50,00.0 for the
faithful completion of the contract.
The first work on the bridge' was
begun during the latter part of Novem-
ber, 1892, and the construction of the
great viaduct was never pr emit ted to
lag from that time until it was pro-
nounced completed in October, 1S93,
and the cdlmnissioners accepted the
work, paying as a final payment $26,-
824.86. While the bridge was started
STRICTLY PURE COFFEE—THE BEST ON EARTH
\
Coff-i is selected from the best imported projucts. roastei by (he very latest
appliancse, retaining all the original deicate tlivor. Absolutely the purest
and best coffee you can buy. Put up in alight cans, one, two and ihree pounds
, U-No.
YOUR GROCER HAS IT.
i
Texas Consumers Company
Coffee Roasters and Packers. 2601-03 Strand
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only port on the gulf. The Galveston,
Houston and Henderson had already
been constructed from Virginia Point
to Houston and the city council entered
into a contract with parties to con-
struct a bridge from Virginia Point to
one of the principal streets of the city.
This was the Insignifcant beginning of
what was to afterward result in the
great causeway.
Back in those days was the origin-
ation of the Gymnastic Club, the iron
foundry, courts, hospitals, gas works,
fire department, theaters, casinoes, city
market, cotton compress, rope factory,
telegraph, sash door and blind manu-
facturing plants and the . newspapers.
\-*-
USED BREAD FOR EXAMPLE.
Baker Displays Soggy Loaf Cooked by
Girls’ Class.
The pupils of a girls’ high school in
jo. Pennsylvania town had a bread-
making contest the other day, accord-
ing to the Bakers’ Weekly. It was a
great success, for the druggists and
doctors of the town did a rushing bus-
iness the next day. One of the bakers
of the town got hold of one of the
soggy, sour, half-baked high school
loaves and put it in his show window
as an awe-inspiring example of what
bread should not be like.
COFPfcR MINING TERRITORY.
Twelve Districts In Eight States Fur-
nish Output.
Twelve mining districts in eight
States have produced almost 95 per
cent of the 15,250,000,0.00 pounds of
copper mined in the United States
since accurate records were begun in
1845.
Arrow
shirts
The “Arrow”
marks the shirt
of style and
quality, ft.
We depend upon
its good qualities
to sell you another
bearing the same
label. $1.50 and $2.00
CLUETT, PEABODY & CO.
MAKERS TROY, N. Y,
Galveston is the nearest sea port to
the center of the United Statees, which
is in Kansas, the greatest grain produc-
ing state of the union.
Galveston waters teem with the fin-
est game and table fish that are to be
found anywhere. Some of the finest of
sport is to be had inside the city lim-
tis.
./
UNION SLAUGHTERING Co.
KILLING AND COOLING FACILITIES
For Cattle, Sh^ep and Hogs.
Dealers In Packing House By-Products, Hides
Tallow, Bones and Fertilizer,
liberal Inducements Offered Wholesalers of Dressed Meats
ASK FOR ALL INFORMATION.
each, resting on 92 concrete piers; the
dra w span was! 226 feet in length, and
the flocr was 13.7 feet above mean low-
tide. The construction called for
1,544,700 pounds of steel and iron, 2,693
feet of cresoted pile trestle, 3,690 feet
of cedar piling apart from the ap-
proaches. Five thousand, seven hun-
dred and fifty barrels of cement were
used, 2,195 cubic yards of sand, 3,380
cubic yards of rock and 1,517,350 board
measure feet of lumber. Maj. H. C.
Ripley was tlie engineer in charge of
the Avork.
COMMISSIONERS.
The board of county commissioners
in office when the big bridge was con-
tracted for and the work begun, was
composed of the following gentlemen:
W. B. Lockheart, county judge; E.
Wegner, representing tlie First Pre-
cinct; William Vowinckle, represent-
ing the Second precincet; C. R. Reifel. |
representing the Third precinct and G. j
W. Butler, representing the Fourth pre- j
cinct. In 1892 the entire board of |
commissioners suffered a change, and i
tlie completion of the bridge came j
while the county commissioners con- j
sisted of the following citizens: Sidney
S. Hanscom, county judge; John Dean, I
commissioner from the First precinct; j
Charles Vidor, from the Second; Mar-
tin Byrne, from the Third, and W. B. j
Westerlage, from the Fourth precinct, j
The program commemorating the op-
ening of the wagon briCge was a most
elaborate affair, beginning at 10 a. m.
on the morning of Thursday, November
16.. 1893, with the formal tender of the
bridge by Mr. A. .T. Tulloclc, and its
reception by County Judge S. S. Hans-
com and an address by Mayor A. W.
Fly. All during the day there was
something going on to remind the
thousands-of visitors to the city that
something extraordinary even for Gal-
veston had taken place. The program
lasted into Friday, winding up at 1
p. m. on that day with a fire depart-
ment exhibition on Tremont street be-
tween Church and Postoffice.
In order to claim the honor of being
the first person across the bridge after
its announced completion, a number of
citizens left the city on an early train
for Virginia Point, and were crossing
the bridge on foot from the mainland
side when they were met on the
i bridge by two deputy sheriffs from the
island side—W. T. Pearson and Joe
Meyers—who had crossed the bridge
on horseback. The party from the
• Mainland consisted of William Repp,
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1111
. • %1
*
Three Views of Old County Wagon Bridge Across Galveston Bay. Lower Picture Looking Toward Mainland From Draw.
with supplies purchased from some
Galveston store. In these two respects
it is expected that hitory will repeat
itelf.
CHRISTIAN X KING.
New Monarch Is Proclnivsesl From the
.Balcony of Palace.
By Associated Press.
Copenhagen, May 16.—Christian X,
was proclaimed king of Denmark from
the balcony of the palace at 3 o’clock
yesterday afternoon in the presence of
a huge concourse of people who had
gathered in the square in front of the
royal residence.
The proclamation was»hailea with a
loud cheer. Throughout the day the
church bells of the city have been
tolling
odist, German Presbyterian, German
Baptist, German Catholic, colored Bap-
tist and colored Methodist.
Early in the life of the city it was
seen that the one thing that should
be done was to connect the island to
the mainland that the city might have
communication with the outside world.
There were several railroads pointing
tow-ard Galveston, as the city was the
STIMULATES MENTAL GROWTH.
Germans Trying Electric Radiation in
Sehool Rooms.
Having proved that electric radia-
tion benefits growing plants, German
scientists are experimenting with an
electric school room, which’ is said to
accelerate the physical growth and
stimpulate the mental processes of the
pupils therein.
Galveston has three of the heaviest
sea coast fortifications intl/e uouhtry.
-«--
Galveston harbor is the finest on the
gulf coast and less than one hour from
the deep sea for a laden ste'amer.
Galveston is the most delightful city
of residence and the most healthful lo-
cality in the entire south.
PENROSE SHAKEN UP.
Senator Thrwon to Ground When
Horse Stumbles.
By Associated Press.
Washington, May 16.—Senator Pen-
rose of Pennsylvania, Republican lead-
er of the senate, while riding in
Rock Creek park yesterday was thrown
to the ground when his horse stumbled.
His arms and shoulders were bruised
but there were no serious hurts.
ON THE OLD BRIDGE ACROSS THE BAY
II
Iflll
Train Crossing Structure That Will Soon Be Superceded by the Causeway
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Galveston Tribune. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 148, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 16, 1912, newspaper, May 16, 1912; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth871897/m1/83/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting San Jacinto Museum of History.