From Dixon’s founding in 1830 until 1846, the only way to cross the Rock River was by boat or by John Dixon’s ferry. From 1846 to 1868, at least eight wooden bridges were built across the river, but none survived more than a few years because high water and floating ice jams usually destroyed them in the spring. After another bridge washed out in 1868, the city sought a more durable solution, accepted bids from 14 contractors, and chose an iron bridge proposed by L. E. Truesdell, whose patented lattice design used many short, light pieces and was praised for strength and symmetry. Dixon dedicated the toll bridge on Jan. 21, 1869, with a half-mile parade featuring “Father” John Dixon and a public strength test in which bystanders and four harnessed teams hauling stone and flour, together said to weigh at least 45 tons, crossed the 660-foot structure, which had an 18-foot-wide roadway and two 5-foot sidewalks. The city was largely unaware that part of Truesdell’s bridge at Elgin, Illinois, had collapsed on Dec. 7, 1868; after repairs, that bridge collapsed again during Independence Day festivities on July 5, 1869. On Sunday, May 4, 1873, about 150-200 spectators stood on the west side of the north span to watch a baptism ceremony in the river as Rev. J. H. Pratt of the First Baptist Church prepared to conduct the third of six baptisms. At about 1:15 p.m., as the choir sang, the bridge suddenly collapsed, tipping west and dropping about 18 feet into water 15-20 feet deep. Its iron latticework pivoted like scissors, trapping or badly injuring many people, while the 15-foot truss held many under water. Despite heroic rescues, bodies were continually pulled from the river, and five more were found days later as far as 10 miles downstream. Eighty percent of those killed were female. Newspapers across the country called it “The Baptism of Death,” “The Dixon Disaster,” and “The Great Bridge Murder.” Three weeks later, the American Society of Civil Engineers created a special Dixon committee to study why bridges failed, and its two-year investigation led to several proposals intended to prevent bridge collapses in the U.S. The Dixon failure was ultimately attributed to a faulty design. The collapse killed 46 people and injured at least 56 others, making the Dixon Bridge Disaster likely the worst road bridge disaster in American history.

Photo: Tom Wadsworth

Dixon, Illinois · USA