Nielson Bridge
c. 1884 - April 25, 1914
"In January 1914, county commissioners decided to make improvements to both Baseline Road (Stark) and the road from Troutdale to the Nielson Bridge [Stark Street Bridge] in order to connect the Sandy Road to the CRH... The county completed a replacement steel bridge that same year."
"In January 1914, county commissioners decided to make improvements to both Baseline Road (Stark) and the road from Troutdale to the Nielson Bridge [Stark Street Bridge] in order to connect the Sandy Road to the CRH... The county completed a replacement steel bridge that same year."
Clarence E. Mershon. The Columbia River Highway: From the Sea to the Wheat Fields of Eastern Oregon. Portland: Guardian Peaks Enterprises. 2006. 1st Edition. (63)
The "new" Stark Street Bridge "replaced the Nielson Bridge, which collapsed on (Good Roads' Day) April 25, 1914, with a load of gravel intended for the new highway. The gravel had been loaded by a 5-man crew at the Baker Pit (on Stark Street past Troutdale Road, now part of the grounds of Mt. Hood Community College [note to self - look for it on lidar]). Upon the return trip, the weight of the gravel and its five-man crew caused the bridge to give way, dumping the men into the river below. Fortunately, the most serious injury was a broken arm suffered by roadboss Charlie Bramhall. The driver, Christen 'Cook' Christensen, and laborers, Frank Fehrenbacher, George 'Jum' Mershon [Clarence E. Mershon's father] and Louis 'Bill' Mershon, came through essentially unscathed, except, as the Gresham Outlook reported, "for a cold dip in the river."
The "new" Stark Street Bridge "replaced the Nielson Bridge, which collapsed on (Good Roads' Day) April 25, 1914, with a load of gravel intended for the new highway. The gravel had been loaded by a 5-man crew at the Baker Pit (on Stark Street past Troutdale Road, now part of the grounds of Mt. Hood Community College [note to self - look for it on lidar]). Upon the return trip, the weight of the gravel and its five-man crew caused the bridge to give way, dumping the men into the river below. Fortunately, the most serious injury was a broken arm suffered by roadboss Charlie Bramhall. The driver, Christen 'Cook' Christensen, and laborers, Frank Fehrenbacher, George 'Jum' Mershon [Clarence E. Mershon's father] and Louis 'Bill' Mershon, came through essentially unscathed, except, as the Gresham Outlook reported, "for a cold dip in the river."
Mershon, East of the Sandy III, 20
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