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Texas | Architecture | Bridges

MUELLER BRIDGE
at
McAlister Crossing

National Register of Historic Places
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Texas' Most Endangered List

Wilson County

La Vernia, Texas

Wilson Counnty Tx - Mueller Bridge
"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

Wilson Counnty Tx - Road closed sign
Road closed sign
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, March 2008

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

Wilson Counnty Tx - Mueller Bridge
Mueller Bridge at McAlister Crossing
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009


Wilson Counnty Tx - Mueller Bridge
Mueller Bridge closed
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, March 2008


Wilson Counnty Tx - Mueller Bridge
More views of the Mueller Bridge
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009


Wilson Counnty Tx - Mueller Bridge
Mueller Bridge side view
The underneath was totally blocked from view by vegetation and thorns

Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, March 2008

More Texas Bridges

TX Wilson  County 1907 Postal Map
1907 postal map showing Cibolo Creek and La Vernia in northern Wilson County
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

See La Vernia, Texas
Floresville, Texas (Wilson County seat) ›
Wilson County

More
Texas Bridges

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