Long Journey for the Bridge Across Tradewater River from Bells Mines to Sturgis
People that lived in the northern section of Crittenden County was cut off from nearby Sturgis in Union County by the Tradewater River. The community of Bells Mines was much closer to the town of Sturgis than the 20+ miles to Marion, but no bridge across the Tradewater River sometimes made it difficult to get to Union County. A small ferry boat was available most of the time or you found your own means to cross the span of water. From the articles in the old Crittenden Presses as early as 1897 the fiscal court knew a bridge was needed in this area.
As with many new projects that cause change this one had its problems and setbacks too. Here is the story of the Kiwanis Bridge with the idea starting as early as 1897 and finally was finished 29 years later in 1926.
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April 8, 1897, At the regular term of the Fiscal court on Tuesday April 4, J. N. Culley (Culley was magistrate for the district of Bells Mines) and E. L. Nunn were appointed commissioners to report on the most practicable place to build a bridge across Tradewater; also as to the kind and probable cost of such a bridge. It was also ordered that the county judge of Union county be requested to appoint similar commissioners to act in conjunction with the Crittenden County commissioners.
Several years past without any further news or updates of this much needed bridge. Perhaps Union County wasn't interested just yet.
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April 6, 1916 – Want a Bridge Across Tradewater
H. L. Culley, Horace Smith, John Wascomb, Hon. Phil Winston, all of Sturgis, Ky., F. L. Black, Wm. Brown, Hon. E. L. Nunn of this county, and others came before the Crittenden County Fiscal Court in the interest of a bridge across Tradewater at the mouth of Cypress Creek
This is one of the main county roads and a bridge should be built there at once to give the people of that section an outlet. Union County will build a turnpike to the county line at the crossing, so that people will have a solid rock road to market all the year.
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August 19, 1920 – The Federal Highway To Be Built
On last Friday August 13, a few citizens of Sullivan, Union County were in our city agitating the question as to the location of the Federal Highway, and the crossing on the Tradewater River.
It has been our information that former Commissioner Rodman Wiley settled this question more than a year ago, and why some few of our citizens will listen and continue to assist a few disgruntle citizens of another county to rob the citizens and taxpayers of our own county of the prospect of a road that rightly belongs to them is somewhat a mystery.
On the 18 day of June 1918, every man who voted for the $150,000 road bond did it with the specific understanding that the road should cross Tradewater at or near the mouth of Cypress. Every man who signed pledges to donate money to augment this sum for road purposes signed a paper that was explicit in stating that the road should cross Tradewater at this point. A resolution unanimous adopted by the Fiscal court, published and put before all the people of the county designated Cypress for crossing.
We believe this road should come into this county by crossing Tradewater at or near the mouth of Cypress, because it was promised the voters by those in charge of the campaign; because it will benefit directly all the northern part of the county while the other will not; because it will connect, directly, almost all of the county with the coal fields of both this and Union county; because the assessors books show that the farm lands touched by the Cypress are valued at $30,000 or more. Why a suggestion of another route has been talked about is a little bit mysterious and one wonders about the motive of the talk.
They Cypress route serves ten to one more Crittenden County people and furnishes ingress and egress to a far more extensive and productive part of the county than the other.
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June 23, 1922 – Bridge Meeting
Some forty or more citizens of Morganfield and Sturgis, representing the Kiwanis Clubs of these cities drove over from Union County Tuesday to attend the bridge meeting held at the court house here Tuesday. Owing to the lack of proper advertising only a small number of Crittenden County people were present at the meeting.
County Judge E. Jeffrey Travis gave the opening address explaining the object of the meeting. He told them he wanted the bridge. He said the people of the two counties were not as closely allied as they should be. Mayor Kern of Sturgis gave the next address. He advised co-operation between the two counties and said the building of the bridge would be the means of more closely uniting the people as neighbors and friends.
Supt. Herbert of Bell Coal & Navigation Co. said the citizens of the northern part of Crittenden deserved and ought to have the bridge. He said that in the days of Daniel Boone and the Indians when they wanted to cross Tradewater they crossed in a boat. He told them that in that respect that part of the county had not improved – they still had to cross in boats. He said it was not right to force those people to endanger their future lives by cussing like a blue streak every time they tried to cross Tradewater and got stuck in the mud.
The meeting closed with an address by J. F. Dogge in which he said he was interested in both counties and wanted the bridge so that he could better make the trips back and forth.
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June 9, 1922 – Bridge To Be Built Across Tradewater
The Union County Fiscal Court met in a call session on last Saturday and voted to build a bridge across Tradewater at the mouth of Cypress, at the same time voted $12,000 or more if necessary for construction of same. A date was set for a joint meeting of the Crittenden and Union County courts to meet at Sturgis to discuss the final plans for the much needed bridge.
This bridge has been needed for the convenience of all the northern part of the county and Judge Travis says he is doing all he can to have it completed before the year is out. (But not to happen yet for it seemed several of the fiscal court members were “agin” the whole thing and a lot of the town people wasn't convinced it was a worthwhile project to spend money on.)
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August 10, 1923 – Fiscal Court News
The Fiscal Court met with Judge E. J Travis and County Attorney E. D. Stone and all the magistrates being present. The court adjourned to meet with the Fiscal Court of Union county to confer as to whether the bridge at the mouth of Cypress built by order of the two counties would be accepted or rejected.
The party of officials motored over and consisted of County Judge E. J. Travis, E. D. Stone, P. R. Taylor, Miss Leaffa Wilborn, L. A. LaRue; F. M. Davdison, P. F. Paris, S. F. Peek, Charles LaRue, Will Hardesty, J. L. Rankin, R. L. Holt and Henry Simpson.
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August 27, 1926 – Tradewater Bridge Now Open To Traffic
The bridge across Tradewater river, on the Highway between Sturgis and Marion, was opened to traffic for the first time Saturday of last week. The structure, one of the largest all concrete foundation bridges in Kentucky, was finished about July 15th. Messrs. W. M. and J. S. Quirey, who had the contract to make the fill at each end of the bridge, completed the work in about thirty days. Between five and six thousand yards of dirt was moved in order to do this. Since the Kiwanis Clubs of Union County worked so hard to see this bridge built it has since been known as the Kiwanis Bridge.
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The old one-lane Kiwanis Bridge which was so hard fought for, for so many years, had served it's purpose, and needed replacing many years later. In 1982 it was replaced with a new two- lane modern concrete bridge. The new bridge was constructed just downstream from the location of the old one.
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