Lenox Bridge, Tennessee

State Road 182, Lakewood Subdivision Dyersburg, TN 38024 The Library of Congress Record http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.tn0215 Built: 1917 Damaged: 1978 Dismantled: 1985 Relocated: 1987-88 Length of Swing Span: Approx. 150 ft. Deck Width: 12 ft.

Located since 1987 at the entrance of the Lakewood subdivision in Dyer County, people from all over the world have visited to see the impressive structure that stands as a symbol of respect for the spirit and ingenuity of those who helped develop West Tennessee into a productive farming region.

Iron-wheeled wagons pulled by teams of sweat-covered mules hauled lumber, steel, and concrete to the banks of the Obion River, about two miles from Lenox, Tennessee.  The wagons carried materials to build a bridge that would link roads leading from fertile Delta farmland to the Mississippi River, and would also swing open to dodge passing steamboats piled high with cotton or timber.

Lenox Bridge's design, a "swing span, pony Pratt through truss bridge," reflected the growing importance of over the road commerce when it was built in 1917.  The design of the bridge also paid respect to the region's dominant method of transportation during this era-steamboats.

To swing the 150-foot-long by 12-foot-wide bridge, workers turned a long steel crank.  The crank connected to a series of gears that rotated the bridge's turntable atop a massive concrete center support column.

"It took four strong men to move that wrench," said Charlie Lovelace, who, as a boy, saw the bridge built 85 years ago.  "When a steamboat came up the river, they would blow four long whistles," said Lovelace.  "We all knew that was the call to open the bridge."   

Lenox Bridge, the span that sometimes was, and sometimes wasn't over the Obion River, lasted 61 years before a tractor trailer mishap in 1978 closed it forever to motorized traffic.      

Seven years after it was closed, the rusted and rotting bridge created an obstacle to dredging operation in the silt-clogged Obion River.  The Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needed to move the bridge's concrete support column to complete the Obion's clean out.         

Before removing the column and taking the bridge down, Corps archaeologists discovered Lenox Bridge was the only surviving swing span, pony Pratt in the state, giving it added historic importance.    

We try to preserve what we can," said Corps archaeologist Jimmy McNeil, "especially when it's a sole survivor."           

Engineers from both the Memphis District and the Tennessee State Highway Department inspected the bridge for structural integrity.  They found it sound for pedestrian traffic and worthy of restoration.  The Army Engineers took care to preserve the bridge's structural integrity when dismantling and moving it in 1985.     

With promise for a future use, the Corps gave Donald Martin, an environmental specialist with the Memphis District, the task of finding a new owner and new home for the historic structure.   

Martin's first task was to prepare the necessary paperwork and arguments for appropriate recognition of the bridge.  Records of the original bridge owners were researched, and newspaper articles from the bridge's construction era were examined.        

The bridge was found eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places by the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Office for two reasons:  the bridge's center span design played a part in the development of transportation routes throughout Western Tennessee; and the workmanship, materials, and design of the bridge served as an example of construction methods uses at the turn of the twentieth century.        

After determining through the Keeper of the National Register that the bridge deserved historic designation, and after agreement between the Memphis District, the President's Advisory Council for Historic Preservation, and the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer, Martin proceeded with "Operation Relocate".         

Martin marketed the bridge's availability sending advertisements to major newspapers in the four largest Tennessee cities.  He also mailed offering packages to 29 organizations interested in historic preservation, including the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.     

A reporter for the newspaper USA Today saw one of the ads and ran a short story about Lenox Bridge's availability.  That story caught the eye of someone associated with the syndicated television program "America".  The bridge's unexpected national television and newspaper exposure soon brought an avalanche of inquiries to a surprised Martin.    

I was amazed at the number of people and organizations from all over the country interested in getting the bridge," Martin said.  "I never dreamed so many people would want or need something like this."       

Martin carefully examined the many proposals sent to him from as far away as Oregon and New York.  He found seven worthy of further consideration.       

Some of the offers for the bridge were bizarre," Martin said.  One group wanted to use it as the finish line for a boat racing course.  Another group wanted to use it as an art gallery within an amusement park, and a cemetery saw the bridge as a sort of spiritual symbol.                 

Martin finally reduced the number of contenders to four.  Upon further deliberation by the Corps, the state Historic Preservation Officer and the President's Advisory Council On Historic Preservation, a Dyersburg businessman and real estate developer, Jere T. Kirk, won final approval.         

Kirk's proposal overcame serious offers from universities and local governmental agencies, including one from Tennessee Riverpark of Chattanooga.  Offices from Chattanooga wanted to use the bridge as a component of the "Riverway" trail system that provides an open, green space for city residents.            

Kirk's interest in obtaining the bridge stemmed from his grandfather, A.A. Kirk, who helped build the span by hauling steel from railroad yards to the construction site in 1917.        

Another factor contributing to Kirk's selection was the cost of relocating the structure.  The site offered by Kirk, Lake Residential Development, is located three miles north of Dyersburg and is less than 10 miles from the bridge's original location.       

Primarily, Kirk successfully met three stipulations to win ownership of the bridge; he provided an interpretive display to describe the bridge's origin, its significance to the region, and the process involved in its relocation; he also got a guarantee (after extensive debate) from a public body, Dyer County, to maintain the bridge should he be unable to do so; and Kirk submitted a drawing depicting the restored bridge to the Tennessee Historical Commission.         

Ellers, Oakley, Chester, and Rike, Inc., a Memphis engineering firm hired by the Memphis District, designed the necessary relocation, rehabilitation, and site plan to properly preserve the bridge.      

With the new owner and a new home for the bridge found, and with a strong preservation plan in hand, the task of disassembling and relocating the bridge remained.         

In September 1987, a relocation and restoration contract was awarded to the Dement Bridge Company of Jackson.  Soon after its successful move in November, sand blasters, ironworkers, and reassembly crews started work on the bridge at the Lakewood site.    

Sparkling with fresh paint in a landscaped park surrounded by new homes and plush forests, Lenox Bridge now spans a boat canal between two scenic lakes.  The site of the bridge has become the first public park within Dyer County.           

Lenox Bridge was reopened for pedestrian traffic on June 27, 1988, with a ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony featuring a high school chorus, U.S. Air Force Color Guard, and guest speaker, Representative Ed Jones, D-Tennessee, and Army Colonel O'Brene Richardson, Memphis District Engineer.  Following the dedication ceremony, Kirk threw a barbeque and boat ride party for the more than 500 people attending.         

Today, Lenox Bridge represents an important link to the region's transportation past and stands as a symbol of respect for the spirit and ingenuity of those who helped develop West Tennessee into a productive farming region.

- from the Dyersburg/Dyer County Chamber of Commerce Web Site 

VIEW OF CARRIAGE AND UPPER PART OF CENTRAL PIER, LOOKING SOUTHWEST
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VIEW OF ENTIRE REMAINING CENTER SPAN, LOOKING NORTH
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VIEW OF ENTIRE REMAINING CENTER SPAN, LOOKING NORTH
HAER TENN,23-LEN.V,1-1

VIEW OF EAST APPROACH TRUSS, EAST TRUSS, CENTRAL TRUSS AND PORTATION OF WEST TRUSS, LOOKING EAST
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