The landmark Roubidoux Bridge in Waynesville, Missouri, will mark its 100th year with a celebration on April 1 at nearby Roy Laughlin Memorial Park.
The party will be from 1 to 3 p.m. that day, a Saturday. The park is easily accessed via Spring Road on the east side of Roubidoux Creek.
According to the Bridgehunter.com database, the five-span concrete arch bridge was built by Koss Construction Co. of Iowa in 1923, and it was widened in 1939.
Strangely enough, the Roubidoux Bridge is not on the National Register of Historic Places, though it’s long been eligible.
It’s carried Route 66 (now Missouri Highway 17) since the beginning; the city was bypassed by Interstate 44 during the late 1970s.
Laughlin Park was the site of an encampment during the Trail of Tears forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation tribe from 1837 to 1839. The city a few years ago erected memorial boards along the creek’s bank to mark the spot.
(Hat tip to Jax Wellborn; image of the Roubidoux Bridge in Waynesville, Missouri, by vinwim via Flickr)
Good chance that this 1923 bridge was once part of the Ozark Trail.