McGilvray Road Bridge No. 4, Van Loon Wildlife Area, La Crosse, La Crosse County, WI

See also HAER WI-22 for additional documentation.
Significance: In 1897, Charles M. Horton of Minnesota received a patent for an improvement on trusses and bridges. According to Horton, riveted and bolted connections perforated the metal, needlessly weakening the joints. Instead, he claimed, one could strengthen a bridge by substituting alternative devices, such as hook-clips, for the rivets and bolts. The La Crosse Bridge and Steel Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin, obtained the rights to manufacture Horton's bridge design, when the firm incorporated in 1900. Between 1905 and 1908, the company erected five, possibly six, patent bowstring bridges along the McGilvray Road.
Survey number: HAER WI-22-C
Building/structure dates: 1907 Initial Construction
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 80000146