Two miles south of the Joppa Community Church and Center and six miles northeast of Bertram, an iron truss Pratt bridge spans the Russell Fork of the North San Gabriel River. On September 5, 1910, the Burnet County Commissioners Court called an election to fund construction of two bridges in Burnet County, and after the vote passed, bids were opened for the Oakalla bridge and Russell Fork bridge. Land for the Russell Fork bridge was purchased from the Asher family, a well-known Joppa-area family, and the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Company of Leavenworth, Kansas, provided the bridge's design and materials. The 1911 truss bridge is 102 feet long, with diagonals built according to the Pratt truss design first developed in 1844 by Thomas and Caleb Pratt. The bridge became important in the daily lives of the Ashers and other Joppa families by simplifying travel to neighboring towns for business. During the Great Depression and World War II, life on the river and under the bridge also served as a major source of entertainment and relaxation. Burnet County's early twentieth-century iron truss bridges advanced the economic progress of rural communities, opened access to higher education for many young people, broadened opportunities, and provided recreation and entertainment for the surrounding area.