P-54-0906
WisDOT Designation: Local - Rural
Current Owner: Town of Dewey
Year Built: 1915
County: Rusk County
Crossing: Josie Creek
Bridge Category: Riveted, Warren pony truss
Spans and Type: 1 span, pony tr uss
Overall Length and Width: 50 feet, 4 inches x
15 feet, 8 inches
National Register of Historic Places Status: Determined Eligible for listing in the National Register
Details
The bridge is a steel, riveted, Warren pony truss with a 50.3-foot span length. It has a 15.7-foot-wide wood deck that has been overlayed with asphalt. The deck rests on seven I-beam stringers supported by timber abutments. The stringers are intersected by three floor beams and laterally braced with cross-bracing that is riveted to the bottom chord. The bottom chord is built of two angles riveted with batten plates. The top chord has inclined end posts and is constructed of back-to-back channels that are riveted together with batten plates and enclosed with a top plate.
Each truss is approximately 5 feet, 6 inches tall and consists of four equilateral panels with vertical and diagonal members that are riveted to the chords with gusset plates. The members are constructed of two angles connected with batten plates.
The north and south abutments are timber pilings with lagging and rip rap at the embankments. The bridge has fixed bearings at the south end and expansion bearings at the north end. Each truss has a horizonal beam guardrail connected to the vertical members. The guardrails flare outward and extend beyond the trusses; they are supported by evenly spaced wood posts. In addition to the added guardrails, the bridge has received regular maintenance, including painting and a new concrete overlay in 2008.
The Town of Dewey, in the north-central part of Rusk County, was established in 1899. Settlement of the area began in the mid-19th century and is largely attributed to the many lumber companies that operated along the Flambeau River — including the John Hein Company, the Menasha Woodenware Company and the Northwestern Lumber Company. After the turn of the century, depletion of the timber supply forced companies to consolidate operations and sell off cleared lands to farmers and land companies. Local lumberman Malcolm Josie sold his property in Section 14 to the Chip River Land Company in 1906.
The northwest quarter of Section 14 was later purchased by the American Immigration Company (AIC), a land company formed in Chippewa Falls in 1906 for the purpose of bringing immigrants to northern Wisconsin. By 1907, the company owned 50,000 acres of former lumber land in Rusk County. The AIC owned the land for the next several decades and presumably constructed the subject bridge, which was fabricated by the Cambria Iron Company and built with volunteer labor.
In the 1930s, Josie Creek Park was established between Josie Creek and the Flambeau River with the help of the Works Progress Administration. In 1941, the park flooded and the property became delinquent. Rusk County acquired the land in 1946 and began redeveloping the park. Jo sie Creek County Park currently consists of a 22-site campground, boat launch, playground, target archery trail and three shooting ranges.