Your bad bridge story

 Lawrenceburg Press, July 14, 1870

THE FALL OF THE WHITE WATER BRIDGE

---

The long iron bridge over White Water River, about a quarter of a mile below Harrison, fell on Monday with a terrific crash, carrying with it Mr. Jerome Johnson, who was crushed to death.

Mrs. Johnson as hauling an enormous saw log of green sycamore about four feet in diameter, and was accompanied by four other men -- named Essex, Dow Pelton, Hatfield and Geo. Bartlet. Of these only Mr. Bartlet was injured and he not seriously.

When the bridge fell, Mr. Johnson who was walking alongside of his wagon, was thrown down and partly under the wagon, being entirely under water when taken out of the wreck. He lived only about 30 minutes. 

The bridge has for a long time been deemed unfit for travel and only a short time ago, some of the Commissioners by request of the citizens, visited and inspected it and pronounced it unsafe. They at the time and since until the accident of Monday that resulted so disastrously, neglected to put up any warning or close the bridge from public travel and -- we hope we have been falsely  informed -- one of the commissioners at the time of viewing the bridge, said that they would not spend any money upon it until after the election, as it would be used  against them as an electioneering hobby!

Certain it is, however, the bridge being unfit for travel, should have been closed against all vehicles and repaired. It has been a bad job from the beginning and the commissioners who received it from the contractors had no more brains nor honesty than the builders, or they would never have received so rickety a structure as the property of the county. 

The other two spans are racked until they are more than three feet out of a straight line and are liable to fall the first time the wind strikes it. 

NOTE: Try not to blame the guy who thought taking a 4-ton sycamore log across a rickety bridge was a good idea.