Davis Bridge, Spanning Upper Iowa River at County Road 16, Lime Springs, Howard County, IA

Significance: Built in 1879, the Davis Bridge was one of a handful of iron spans erected in Howard County following the failure of several early timber structures. It was fabricated and built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company, perhaps the most prolific 19th century iron bridge fabricator in the country. The wrought iron composition and bowstring configuration of the Davis Bridge clearly place it in the milieu of 1870's bridge construction. But its pinned connections and boxed-channel arches are features more commonly associated with later truss technology. The Davis Bridge is thus distinguished as a transition between two mainstay 19th century wagon bridge types: the bolted bowstring arch-truss and the pinned Pratt truss. The oldest wagon bridge remaining in Howard County and one of the oldest in Iowa, the Davis Bridge is both historically and technologically significant to the development of bridge building in Iowa.
Survey number: HAER IA-35
Building/structure dates: 1879 Initial Construction