Rumble Bridge

Construction Date:  1944

Origins:

• First bridge ca. 1911 – reportedly “unsafe”
• 1944 – upgraded

Features:
“The concrete footings about 200 yards west of the present bridge on Highway 25 are the footings of the former bridge. That road was the main route to Brandon and all points to the south and east, so everyone in the community crossed it often. And to get to Rivers — and to get to school for me — we had to cross it every day. (Except in the winter when, with a horse-drawn cutter, van, or sleigh, we crossed on the river ice straight south of Rivers.)  The deck on the bridge was made of heavy wooden planks sitting crossways in a steel frame. But they weren’t fastened in any way — they just sat loose in the frame. So, when a vehicle crossed the bridge, the planks “rumbled” quite loudly, so the bridge became known as the ‘Rumble Bridge’ or the ‘Thunder Bridge’. “ — Courtesy Don McFadden