In the 18th century, caravans carrying supplies to Spanish missions in East Texas and other travelers crossed the Guadalupe River near this site on El Camino Real, and floodwaters sometimes took weeks to subside before they could cross. In 1887, the Comal County Commissioners Court contracted with the King Iron Bridge Company of Ohio to build a high water bridge over the Guadalupe River. Among the last wrought iron bridges built in Texas and one of the first long-term toll-free structures completed over a major waterway in the state, the monumental truss structure extends more than 640 feet and consists of two main Pratt (Whipple) truss spans flanked by two smaller spans. The Whipple was a variation on the more typical Pratt truss style that enjoyed brief but explosive popularity in the mid- to late-19th century, and these trusses are connected by a pin-and-hanger system common at the time. The spans are supported by oval-shaped masonry piers with rusticated stonework and pointed, or "cut-water," ends. In 1917, the Texas Highway Department designated the Faust Street Bridge as a major crossing for all traffic between Austin and San Antonio on State Highway 2, formerly the Austin-San Antonio post road. In 1934, a new concrete highway bridge was erected nearby, and the Faust Street Bridge continued to serve local traffic until fire damaged it in 1979. Its combination of Pratt and Whipple truss types and its wrought iron construction make it one of the state's important historic bridges.