| |
"The
three-span, 252-foot Mueller Bridge at McAlister Crossing features polygonal camelback
trusses with multiple panels."
Photo courtesy Shirley Grammer, 2001 |
Bridge
at McAlister Crossing (aka Mueller Bridge)The
Bridge at McAlister Crossing (also known as Mueller Bridge) was listed in the
National Register of Historic Places on October 16, 2007 as Mueller Bridge. It
was also placed on Texas' Most Endangered List in 2006. The bridge was approved
for Recorded Texas Historic Landmark designation in 2004 and a marker was erected
in 2005. Unfortunately, the marker was stolen in 2008 and has not been recovered.
The bridge is deteriorating rapidly but no funds are available for renovation.
Following is a brief history of the bridge:
Historical Marker Text:
"John
Murphy McAlister (1807-1885) and his wife, Isabella (McClain) (1817-1872) settled
in La Vernia with
their family in the early 1850s. In 1857 they purchased several hundred acres
of land on the southwest bank of Cibolo Creek. The natural stream crossing adjacent
to their property became known as McAlister Crossing and for years served residents
on both sides. The McAlister children subdivided the land following their father's
death in 1885. About the same time, county commissioners designated the local
route, including the crossing, as road No. 62 (present County Road 337). In 1906
the Henry Mueller Family purchased land on the east side of the creek; a son would
later buy land on the west side, just southwest of McAlister Crossing. In 1908,
county commissioners permitted the placement of telephone poles along the road
and the creek crossing. In 1915 the commissioners Court contracted with the Alamo
Construction Company of San Antonio
to erect five bridges in the county, including one at McAlister Crossing. The
most expensive of the new structures, the Bridge at McAlister Crossing, completed
in 1915, cost nearly $9000. Because members of the Mueller Family owned property
on either end of the bridge, it was often called Mueller Bridge. The three-span,
252-foot Mueller Bridge at McAlister Crossing features polygonal camelback trusses
with multiple panels. For over 70 years it served local residents, surviving Cibolo
Creek's occasional raging waters. Closed to vehicular traffic in 1988, it remains
a historic link to engineering designs of the early 20th century."
- Shirley
Grammer |
 |
Photographer's Note:
"This
is the same bridge that the Road Closed sign in La
Vernia included. The bridge hasn't changed a bit since the 2001 photo. The
underneath was totally blocked from view by vegetation and thorns." - Barclay
Gibson
More Texas
Bridges | |
|
