LA CROSSE BRIDGE ASSOCIATION (La Crosse, Wis.). RECORDS, 1935-1940.  0.4 cubic feet (one archives box)

Abstract

Also known as the “Citizens Bridge Committee” and the “La Crosse Bridge Dedication Committee,” the La Crosse Bridge Association (La Crosse, Wis.) sought to promote the construction of a new trans-channel Mississippi River Bridge and arrange for its public dedication. This group came into existence shortly after a sudden traffic accident caused the failure of the 1891 municipal wagon bridge.

The collection consists of records of the La Crosse Bridge Association from 1935 and 1940. Materials include correspondence, minutes, committee materials, financial records, article/history drafts, and a photographic scrapbook documenting the new Cass Street bridge (Mississippi High Bridge) parade and dedication held on September 23, 1939.

Acc. No. 2005-44
Donated by the La Crosse County Historical Society, May 2005; previously donated to the LCHS by the La Crosse Bridge Association representatives in 1940
Processed by Katie Adams and Anita Taylor Doering, May 2005

History

The La Crosse Bridge Association was formed the afternoon following the partial collapse of the municipal Wagon Bridge in the early morning of August 9, 1935. A one car traffic accident killed two of the four people in the vehicle. The tragedy resulted in a citizen’s committee formed by the Chamber of Commerce to promote the building and erection of a new bridge across the Mississippi River. Ironically, Alderman Sherman Lennon had first proposed construction of a new bridge to the La Crosse Common Council two months prior to the accident on June 14, 1935.

The new bridge was built with Wisconsin highway funds from the appropriation for special bridges and regular federal aid funds. The city of La Crosse furnished the right of way for the bridge. Construction of the Mississippi River High Bridge (Cass Street bridge) began in August of 1937 and a dedication ceremony was held on September 23, 1939. The La Crosse Bridge Association held its final meeting in February of 1940.

Scope and Content

This collection includes records of the La Crosse Bridge Association from 1935 and 1940.

Folders are arranged alphabetically therein chronologically. After the initial folder of information about the collapse of the wagon bridge, subsequent folders include committee materials, such as fireworks, parade, race and traffic. Other series include correspondence, financial records, minutes, miscellaneous, personnel, La Crosse Tribune Bridge Edition drafts, and a scrapbook.

The scrapbook contains many original photographs that appeared in the La Crosse Tribune newspaper the day after the dedication, and include a copy of the original printed invitation, ribbons, and parade and dedication ceremony photographs.