1873 bridge collapse in Dixon, Illinois
The Dixon Bridge Disaster, also known as the Truesdell Bridge Disaster, occurred on Sunday, May 4, 1873, when the bridge across the Rock River at Dixon, Illinois, collapsed while spectators were observing a baptism ceremony in the river below. The collapse killed 46 people and injured at least 56 others. In terms of total deaths and injuries, the event may be the worst road bridge disaster in American history.
A coroner's jury ruled that the Dixon City Council erred in judgment in selecting the Truesdell bridge design, which was determined to be faulty.
Dixon in 1873.
At the time of the collapse, Dixon was a growing town and a primary crossing point over the Rock River for those traveling from downstate Illinois to Galena, Illinois. In 1870, the population of Dixon was 4,055, almost double its population in 1860.
The city was served by a mayor and eight aldermen, seven churches, and two weekly newspapers, The "Dixon Sun" and The "Dixon Telegraph". In the five years prior to 1873, the city had enjoyed a significant growth of construction and infrastructure. The city had two bridges: a railroad bridge built in 1855 and a bridge for pedestrians and vehicles. Most residents lived within 10 blocks of the vehicular bridge.
From the city's founding in 1830 until 1846, residents crossed the river primarily by ferry. Between 1846 and 1868, the city had at least eight wooden bridges across the Rock River. None of them survived more than a few years, usually being destroyed by the high water and floating ice jams that occurred each spring.
Construction of bridge.
In 1868, after another bridge failure, the city sought a more durable solution and accepted bids from 14 contractors. In May 1868, the Dixon bridge committee had personally visited many of the proposed bridge designs.
Bridge contractor L. E. Truesdell, originally of Warren, Mass., had proposed an iron bridge that was based on his 1856 patent for a lattice bridge design. The "Chicago Daily Tribune" reported that Truesdell's design was built on the idea that “an iron bridge might be built of short light pieces, easy of transportation to the almost inaccessible localities where bridges might be needed.” As of 1868, Truesdell had built several bridges in Illinois, but none as long as the proposed 660' bridge in Dixon. The "Decatur (Ill.) Republican" reported, “Mr. Truesdell warrants every bridge to give perfect satisfaction. … He certainly has the best thing yet out … They are unequalled for strength and symmetry and are rapidly growing into favor.”
The Dixon city council took three ballots before finally favoring the Truesdell bid on a 5-3 vote. As Alderman W. N. Underwood Jr. recalled in the "Inter-Ocean" newspaper, “The people were crazy on (an) iron bridge.”
When the Truesdell project, a toll bridge, was dedicated on Jan. 21, 1869, the "Dixon Weekly Herald" reported, “A structure more truly grand and beautiful to the eye can be found in no Western city and we presume in no Eastern one.” The bridge featured five spans, an roadway with two sidewalks on both sides, each guarded with a railing. The project cost the city $75,000, which included $31,500 for the ironwork and $43,500 for the five stone piers that supported the structure.
The 1869 dedication included a long parade and included a test of the bridge by placing on the bridge four harnessed teams hauling stone, a load of flour, and a large group of bystanders, all weighing “at least 45 tons.” The Belvidere (Ill.) newspaper later reported that the Dixon city council issued a resolution that thanked Truesdell “for the promptness, energy, and faithfulness … and also for his gentlemanly courtesy.”
Elgin bridge collapse.
While the Dixon bridge was being completed, a portion of the Truesdell bridge at Elgin, Illinois, collapsed on Dec. 7, 1868. It was repaired, but seven months later, on July 5, 1869, the Elgin bridge partially collapsed again while filled with people watching a tub race. A span on the bridge's east side fell into of water. The number of deaths reported ranged 0–3, but 30 to 40 were injured. The collapse would have raised concerns about the Dixon bridge, but the Elgin bridge was a single truss design, while the Dixon bridge was a double truss. This lessened apprehensions about the Dixon bridge. When an investigation of the Elgin collapse began, L. E. Truesdell offered a reward of $10,000 for the detection of the guilty parties. The investigation concluded, “The foundations of the structure must have been tampered with by some evil disposed persons,” according to a Milwaukee newspaper.
Dixon collapse.
Sunday, May 4, 1873, was said to be a beautiful day after a cold winter. On May 4, word had spread around Dixon that Rev. J. H. Pratt of the Baptist Church was going to lead his congregation after services to the river to baptize six converts: one man and five women. The baptism site was on the north side of the river, “a few rods” (four rods are or ) west of the Truesdell bridge.
Rev. Pratt later admitted to the "Chicago Daily Tribune" that he had detained the crowd longer than usual to impress upon them the advantage of ‘coming to Jesus.’ He added that he had no concerns of a bridge failure since he had conducted similar ceremonies at the same spot with “at least three times as many persons congregated on the same span to witness the immersion.”
By various accounts, the bridge had filled with at least 150 to 200 spectators, with the heaviest concentration on the sidewalk between the riverbank and the first pier. Several horse-drawn carriages were on the bridge's roadway. While most spectators were reported to be women and children, some boys and a few men had climbed upon the bridge's trelliswork to get a good view.
Rev. Pratt had baptized two of the six, and a lady named Mrs. Brewer was the third. As she and the minister waded out into the water, the choir began to sing. Some said that they felt the bridge vibrate, and others commented about the possibility of a collapse. Henry Strong, the bridge tender, reportedly began to order boys off the trusses and the people off the bridge.
Failure of bridge.
Many of the eyewitnesses reported hearing a sharp crack between the end of the bridge and the first pier. The heavy weight of the crowd on the west side seemed to tip the bridge over, as that part of the bridge dropped quickly. The crowd then uttered “one wild fearful shriek” as they plummeted about into the water, which was reported to be deep. While the north span was the first to fall, the other four spans also quickly collapsed, with each span twisting in different directions. The "Chicago Tribune" reported, “Some sank to rise no more. Some were killed before they touched the water. Some were entangled in the debris. Some jumped from the bridge to the river, and swam ashore. The weak generally succumbed.” The truss “fell over with the weight, and imprisoned the doomed in an iron cage, with which they sunk, and from which there was no escape.” The hands and faces of some victims could be felt only below the surface of the water, trapped under the debris.
Several newspaper reports noted the ensuing panic in the water, as victims frantically grabbed at each other to get to the surface, while others fought off such grasps to avoid being pulled under. In the fall, children were separated from their parents, and wives were separated from their husbands.
Fatalities.
The ironwork of the bridge created deadly problems. The iron latticework “pivoted like shears, catching many hands and mangling them.” A 16-year-old girl, who drowned, had her arm caught in the ironwork so that it took almost “two days to cut away the iron with hack saws and release her body,” according to the "Dixon Telegraph". Another woman had her leg sawed off to free it from the debris, while others were crushed by the ironwork. “Two women went down together, the iron hemming them in like a vise. Their necks and bodies were securely bound.”
As of 6:00 p.m. that Sunday, 37 bodies had been pulled from the water. The total number lost was then estimated at 90 to 100, since many were assumed to be trapped under the heavy ironwork of the bridge.
Injuries.
Newspaper accounts reported dozens of injuries sustained by survivors. The injuries included severe wounds to the scalp, head, leg, arm, wrist, collar bone, shoulder, ribs, chest, spine, various bones, as well as shock and severe lacerations. Reports also mentioned several cases of “strangulation” that cut off breathing, yet not fatally. One such strangulation survivor was the youngest reported injury, ;templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" / ;3+1⁄2-year-old Gertie Wadsworth, daughter of John Wadsworth. She had been on the bridge with her grandmother, Christan Goble, who was killed.
Similarly, Elizabeth Wallace fell to the water holding her daughter. The mother died, but the daughter was expected “to live a cripple if she survives the spasms into which she is constantly thrown. She is now an orphan,” reported the "Inter-Ocean". Similar psychological injuries were reported by the "Dixon Sun": “Kittie Dally was “insensible from strangulation in the water. Frank Bisco in the same condition.” The "Sun" listed the names of 56 injured, which included 31 males and 25 females.
Rescue efforts.
As the mass of bodies were thrown into the river, several citizens quickly brought ropes, planks, and boats to rescue the living and recover the dead. One boat retrieved two little sisters who had clung to each other and to a portion of the ironwork of the bridge. When the bridge collapsed, long wooden planks that made up the bridge floor were released into the water, becoming life rafts for those who grabbed one. Others used the planks to extend a lifeline to those in the water. William Dailey was reported to have saved 16 victims using one of these planks. Several men worked tirelessly with rescue efforts, while many homes along the river were opened up to the dead and the wounded. As reported by the "Dixon Sun", many citizens “did not spare their substance during our trouble. Blankets, shawls, clothing, sheets, quilts, cloths, cotton, woolen goods, and materials of every description were demanded and were freely given and without a question. The houses were filled with the dead, the dying, and with a thousand anxious enquirers. Carpets and beds were given up freely, and services rendered that ought to give us a nobler estimate of humanity than has ever entered our conceptions.”
Survivor stories.
The extensive newspaper coverage of the event included many survivor stories. The "Memphis Daily Appeal" reported: “There were a number of remarkable escapes of children, of whom there were probably about fifty on the bridge when it went down. One little fellow about thirteen years old was caught by both feet on the iron rigging of one of the fallen spans, and had one of his legs broken. He managed by sheer strength to pull one of his boots off, tearing the sole off in the process; then coolly taking out his knife, ripped the other boot from the foot of the wounded leg, and, crippled as he was, swam ashore.”
Jacob Armstrong Jr., a shoemaker about 24 years old, went down in the crash and was reported to have crawled on the bottom of the river to escape the trappings of the bridge. He then went to work rescuing others. In the "Chicago Times", Armstrong was quoted as saying, “Under water there were women and children, and some men, all striving to clutch hold of something to save themselves. … They looked like dark objects wrestling about. Some poor fellow caught hold of me, and would have dragged me down, only I managed to get free and began striking out with my right hand.”
Other young men were noted for their stories of survival and rescue. The "Dixon Telegraph" reported, “Will Schuler, Joe Haden, and Eustace Shaw narrowly escaped by swimming to the shore after extricating themselves from the iron work on leaping from the bridge into the river.” Eustace Shaw, then only 16, would later become the editor of the "Telegraph". The "Tribune" reported that he could “swim like an otter.” After rescuing himself, “He … bravely sallied forth to rescue the drowning, bringing several to shore.”
Some reporters became skeptical of the