Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis Bridge

Louisville, Henderson and St. Louis Bridge. . The railroad track you crossed entering Fort Duffield Park was built in 1893 as the “Texas Route” to connect Louisville and St. Louis. A few years later it was renamed the Louisville, Henderson and St. Louis Railway. Originally the line was built from West Point to Henderson, Kentucky. In 1907 the railway bridge across Salt River collapsed and fell into Salt River where most of its iron frame works as well as the concrete middle pier remained covered with 25 feet of water until the present time. In the summer of 2007, construction was started to build a new bridge to replace the century old bridge. This mechanism was retrieved from the bottom of Salt River where is had laid submerged in 25 feet of water for exactly 100 years. It was a gear used to turn, or swing the entire steel work on the bridge whenever a steamboat would go up or down the then navigable Salt River. It is indeed a relic of days long gone. Funding for this sign provided by a grant from Louisville Civil War Roundtable . This historical marker was erected by Louisville Civil War Roundtable. It is Near West Point in Hardin County Kentucky