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Black River and Hargrove Bridge
“A living river by the door, a nightingale in the sycamore!”
“Envoy” by Robert Louis Stevenson
Poplar Bluff is a river city---like many other fortunate towns and cities throughout the world. Danger of flooding accompanies this good fortune, but for the most part, the value of the river far surpasses any detriments. The river can be a system of transportation, offer recreational opportunities and be used as a natural stream of beauty drawing people to its banks.
Black River was the mode of travel for the early explorers of this region. It was also the mode of travel for the great logging and subsequent lumber business of the early days of Butler County and Poplar Bluff. And for many years it has been the source of the city’s water supply.
The river was named in Arkansas by a French explorer in the early 18th century. He discovered the river near where it meets Current River, and he called it Riviere Noire or Le Noir (the black).... Black River in translation.
The river flows from Dent County northwest of Butler County. It is fed by springs and rises from three forks, from the east at Centerville, from the west at Black and from the center, Lesterville. Forming at Lesterville the river runs south through Butler County on to Arkansas where Current River flows into it and later the Black empties into White River and on to the Mississippi.
For many years the river flooded east and south Poplar Bluff regularly and also the farm land east and south of Poplar Bluff on to the Arkansas border. Finally, in the late 1940s, Clearwater Dam was built near Piedmont to control the flow of the river. This has eliminated the frequency and severity of the flooding.
In the early days, beginning in the middle 1800s, the great trees of the forests were cut and floated down river to Poplar Bluff to be milled and shipped on by steamboats which navigated the river. The steamboats also brought supplies and people to the area. By 1916, the lumber business had passed its zenith, and the railroads had taken over most of the function of transportation. Nevertheless, a pivot bridge was built across Black River tying together the “existing roads running east to Qulin and west to the south end of the ‘Big Island Road.’ “ 1 The east side of the river at that site was known as timber land, while on the west was farm land, much of it owned by Charles H. Hargrove and one large farm owned by Mr. Hargrove and Harvey I. Ruth, prominent Poplar Bluff businessman.
The pivot bridge, which is the only one of its kind standing in the state, rotated from the center to allow large vessels to pass on the river.
According to a bill passed by the United States Congress in l906, a bridge over navigable water required an act of congress. Believing in its need, the Butler County court enlisted the help of the district representative to congress, J. J. Russell of Charleston, to introduce such a bill in congress.
The
bill was passed in January1916 authorizing the bridge to be built and constructed in such a manner not to interfere with the free navigation of the waterway. A contract was let to Miller and Bocherding of St. Louis in October of that year to build the structure that would be named Hargrove Bridge.
Miller and Bocherding built many bridges in Missouri and several in Butler County. This was a very innovative company. They used their own patented truss in building
the floor of the Hargrove Bridge. Their system made the bridge a very safe but light structure. It also was very economical. Hargrove Bridge was completed on Nov. 15, 1917. There are only 16 bridges with this unique type of truss standing in the state.
Because the era of large boats on Black River was rapidly decreasing, the pivot bridge became more of a curiosity than necessity, It is believed that the bridge rotated only a few times a year until its last rotation in 1942.
However only six months after it opened the pivot was found to be disabled.
Highway engineers were alerted and soon reported that the main center pier had settled at
the base. They went on to say, “The pier in question hasn’t settled out of line at all, but
straight down about nine inches, the settlement being started by parties driving over a hundred head of cattle on the bridge when the river was at flood stage.”
The bridge was repaired and served the area until November 1992 when a log jam piled up against one of the piers at the end of the rotating section. High water that month caused massive wash under the log jam which undermined the supports. The entire structure was disabled. This damage may have prevented a catastrophic accident because the bridge was found to have deteriorated so much it may well have collapsed under the pressure of traffic.
Jim Mathis of Mathis and Associates Engineering firm of Poplar Bluff recently wrote that the bridge served “as a local traffic carrier, and more importantly as a regional landmark, diving board, fishing hole, meeting place and lovers’ backdrop for several generations. Engineering students and curiosity seekers visited the site to marvel at the unique structure.”
Hargrove Bridge was selected for the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Its value as a traffic carrier and its historic value prompted the Butler County Commission to apply for a grant to fund restoring the bridge in 1996. A grant was awarded through the Federal Transportation Enhancement Program.
Measurements, structural analysis, plans and specifications for the bridge’s restoration were made by Mr. Mathis. Bid letting for the work was held in July 1998 with Jay Githens of J.W. Githens Company chosen to rebuild the bridge.
Mr. Githens made every effort to use materials consistent with the 1917 originals, and substitutions made over the years were replaced with appropriate materials.
The turnstile and gears that turned the bridge, and the center truss that supported it during rotation were left in place for the inspection of future generations.However due to cost, the turn table was not restored for rotation.
Dedication of the restored bridge was held July 2, 1999, 82 years after it was first opened.
And so the river continues to flow under the historic bridge and leaves behind the water supply Poplar Bluffians need for their daily lives and the recreation enjoyed along its banks and through its channels.
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Photo: Hargrove Bridge before restoration.
General Research Sources
- Early History of Butler County, George R. Loughead
- Robert Manns, Butler County historian
- Butler County Assessor, Marion Tibbs
- Lee Gilleard, Missouri State Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation
- Program, Jefferson City, Mo.
- Jay Githens, J. W. Githens Co. Poplar Bluff, Mo.
- Jim Mathis, Mathis and Associates Surveying and Engineering, Poplar Bluff, Mo .
1 Highway 53 S. to County Road 658
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