Please Click on Below Photo for Larger View.

The Suspension Bridge pictured above is off Smith Oaks Rd, about a 1/2 mile North
of State Highway 56 Crossing of Choctaw Creek. It may look to some, as a 100' version
of the Brooklyn Bridge, only made of wood. The Bridge Spans the Choctaw Creek, and
was the crossing for travelers from Bells to Sherman years ago.
When the new Hwy 82 is complete, from Bells to Sherman, this bridge will be only 100
feet from the highway.
U.S. National Parks Service has recently photographed and measured the suspension bridge.
They will make drawings to go with the large format pictures and put together the history
of the bridge. All will go into the Library of Congress and will be in the National
Register of Historical Places.
The federal officials have sent nails and samples of wood from the bridge to Washington
D.C. for analysis to date the bridge. It may date back to 1905. A structure only
has to be 50 years old to be in the Register.
Most suspension bridges in Texas were found along the Brazos River, and were
usually not totally made of wood like this bridge.
This bridge is on private property. Perhaps there will be an exit off the
new highway, so people may view this remarkable piece of history.
The owner remembers the old bridge saved his herd of cattle. The creek flooded badly,
and the cattle got up on the old wooden planks and waited for the creek to go down.
It has been said that use of this suspension bridge ended when a cattle truck fell
through the center.
The National Parks Service needs help to track down old photographs and documentation
about the suspension bridge. If you have any information,
you can call TxDOT at (903)737-9284. (Herald Democrat, July 12, 2000.)

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This is some of the documentation that will go into the Library of Congress
about the Choctaw Bridge.
(At this time, the Choctaw Bridge is not pictured on their site.)

Thanks to Jerry Durham, WA, for sharing this info with us.
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Swinging Bridges
Patent on the old swinging bridge, was held by Greer Bridge Co, The Knaur Foundry in
Denison used to build the bridges and the Greer brothers installed them across creeks
and rivers around the country. The bridge was suspended from huge cables which lapped
over end posts and were cemented in the ground.
Swinging Bridges earned their title; when a horse and buggy, wagon or later the auto
first dropped onto the bridge, the cables would "give" allowing the free-swinging
motion, giving the driver or rider a queasy feeling while passing over the bridge.
In a small community of Kenefic, Okla, a farmer put a swinging bridge across the Blue
River.
The farmer started charging a quarter for use of the bridge, back when a quarter was
somewhat rare.
Residents had to take a somewhat long route to avoid crossing the suspension bridge,
while traveling to Durant. One night, someone used a hack-saw to cut through the
massive cables. The next morning the farmer found his bridge setting in Blue River.
Attached was a note which warned against resetting the span.
The farmer decided to sell the bridge. The Greer Bridge bought it for $400. and moved
it to south-east part of Grayson County,Texas. The Shannon Creek Bridge was one of
the last suspension bridges in use and was demolished in 1955.
(Sherman Democrat, Sept. 16,1955)

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