In 1919, a rooster sale organized by Frank Derby raised money to begin construction of a bridge over the Tombigbee River at Moscow Ferry, the last link in completing the Dixie Overland Highway between Savannah and San Diego. The plan was to “bridge the ‘Bigbee with cocks,” soliciting roosters from world-famous persons and holding an auction and barbecue in Demopolis for the bridge’s benefit. Congressmen “Buck” Oliver, Admiral William S. Benson, and Secretary of Navy Josephus Daniels helped win President Wilson’s support, and he and the other members of the Big Four at the Versailles Conference—Lloyd George, Clemenceau, and Orlando—shipped roosters on the USS Northern Pacific. Governor Kilby sent 27 prominent Alabamians to the White House to receive the roosters from President Wilson. By August 14, 1919, 600 roosters and one hen from Helen Keller had arrived in Demopolis. President Wilson’s rooster sold for $44,000, and although more than $200,000 was pledged, most of it was not collected. The names of 88 donors appear at the original site one mile downstream. With added state and federal funds, the bridge was built and opened in 1925 as Memorial Bridge. It was always known locally as Rooster Bridge, and the name was officially changed in 1959 when a bill sponsored by Sen. E. O. Eddins passed the State Legislature. In July 1971, a bill sponsored by State Representatives I. D. Pruitt and R. S. Manley decreed that all future bridges over the Tombigbee at Moscow would be named Rooster Bridge and would bear plaques telling of Frank Derby’s unusual plan for building the first bridge.