1908 Palisades Bridge

In 1908 the Western Bridge and Construction Co. of Omaha, Nebraska, built this Pratt-Through Truss Bridge. Workers fastened beams together with diagonal bracing to create a strong rigid framework. Each beam of a truss bridge shares a portion of the weight of the bridge to help displace the weight and stress of crossing traffic. The steel bridge rests on natural abutments of Sioux quartzite. A milldam bridge was built nearby in 1870 when C. W. Patten erected a flour mill on high ground northwest of the dam. Water from Split Rock Creek powered the mill. Built of heavy timbers and large boulders, the bridge was wide enough to drive over with team and wagon. In 1883 a bridge was built on this site. It made the uphill grade less abrupt for loaded wagons heading to Patten’s Mill and the village of Palisade. An ice jam destroyed this bridge in the spring of 1896 by lifting it from its moorings and floating it downstream. The 1908 Palisades Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Place in 1999.

South Dakota · United States