Wednesday, August 12, 2026

1898+1955 US-67 Bridges over Illinois River and 1943 Flood at Beardstown, IL

1898: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)
1955: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; John A Weeks IIISatellite)

1898 Toll Bridge


BridgeHunter_1898

Aaron Briar posted

BridgeHunter_1898

Lisa Ruble posted
Beardstown Bridge and Illinois River 
May 1943
Cass County
Norman Schafer shared


Sandy Lawber Ragan commented on Lisa's post
May 1943

Lisa Ruble answered Rory's question
The old bridge was where the Beardstown River Look is now. The bridge was built for wagons and was never meant to be used for vehicles. Looked scary!

Because of the flood wall, they are now prepared for the river to get a lot higher.
Street View, Aug 2023

1955 Bridge

John Weeks
"Beardstown was one of the earlier cities to be settled in Illinois. It was bigger than Chicago for several decades. The city was nicknamed Porkopolis due to the large pig yards and slaughterhouse operations. That trade shifted to Chicago when the railroad arrived in 1859. Beardstown was also a major hub of riverboat traffic, but that also diminished when passenger service was offered by the railroads."

John Weeks
"The Beardstown Bridge is one massive bridge, something that would only be expected on the lower Mississippi or other similarly large river. The main bridge is a through truss span about 1,365 feet long, with a 540 foot main span for navigation traffic. It rises nearly 70 feet above the water to the low steel line. To the north, there is a second through truss bridge about 710 feet long. A 1,000 foot long trestle crosses a backwater slough to the north, and a 500 foot steel deck truss bridge spans a creek on the south end. The overall river crossing is 2/3 of a mile."

HistoricBridges
"This bridge consists of a two span continuous truss and a three span continuous truss, making it a unique pair of truss styles."

Because of trees and the flood wall, this is the best street view that I could find.
Street View, Aug 2023

Sep 11, 1955 photo by Jacksonville Daily Journal via BridgeHunter_1955

Photo by Steve Conro via BridgeHunter_1955

More about the 1898 Bridge and 1943 Flood


Julie Chenoweth Terstiep commented on Lisa's post

Lisa commented on her post
The Beardstown Wagon Bridge was built in 1898.

Lisa commented on her post
1943

Lisa commented on her post

Lisa commented on her post
May 22nd 1943

Lisa commented on her post
May 26th 1943

Lisa commented on her post

Lisa commented on her post
1936

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