Falls County, Texas

Rosebud's
Bowstring Truss Bridge

Rosebud's Carnegie Bridge

by Johnny Stucco
March 1, 2010


Andrew Carnegie was perhaps the ultimate rags-to-riches story. After becoming one of the richest men of his era, upon retirement he set out to give his money away – with a vengeance. His gift of library buildings across the English-speaking world is well known. (Two Thousand, eight hundred buildings world-wide and nineteen hundred and forty-six in the U.S. alone.)

Prior to 1872, Andrew Carnegie had three passions: bridges, railroad passenger cars and telegraphy. His iron mills were seen as a subsidiary to his less-profitable Keystone Bridge Company, which he himself called his “pet” interest. Carnegie’s passion for bridges was that they provided monuments that would endure for generations and that they required engineering and architectural design (when constructed on a large scale). These were skills that Carnegie greatly admired.

While the first bridge across the Mississippi (at St. Louis) was widely known as the Eads Bridge (after its designer James B. Eads), it was, in fact, constructed by Carnegie’s Keystone Bridge Company. The bridge was started in the summer of 1868 and completed in the spring of 1874.

While much has been written on the grand bridges, what are we to make of this tiny bowstring bridge in Rosebud, Texas? Formed of Carnegie steel, it clearly dates much later, but there is no date-plate attached.

Was it an experiment that produced few examples before being abandoned? Were the sisters to this sample turned into scrap for WWII?

Searching the Internet brought up few clues. The overwhelming content for a “Carnegie Bridge” search reveals a beautiful span in Cleveland, over the Cuyahoga River, however, the reference to the name Carnegie is an avenue by that name that connects to the bridge. It is now known as the Hope Memorial Bridge, after Bob Hope’s father, a local stonemason. Who knew? This modest little bridge sits on solid ground in Rosebud’s city park, providing no information – only mystery.

Rosebud native Henry Skupin (now of Houston) called an old classmate who provided some information on how the bridge came to be where it currently is, but nothing on its origin.


William Tarver writes: “If I recall correctly from my youth, the bridge was originally installed over Pond Creek in southern Falls County. Excess erosion caused a new bridge to be installed. The old bridge was purchased by the City of Rosebud and the city paid to transport it to the city park to provide a second means of egress for the park. I think the bridge was a ‘kit’ bridge manufactured by one of the Andrew Carnegie’s foundries around 1900.”

For now, until more information is discovered, or until similar bridges surface, Rosebud, Texas has perhaps the only extant sample of a (small scale) “Carnegie Bridge” in Texas.


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