Turtleville Iron Bridge, Spanning Turtle Creek, on Lathers Road, Beloit, Rock County, WI

Significance: The Turtleville Iron Bridge carries Lather Road 140 feet, from abutment face to abutment face, across Turtle Creek. It was built in 1887 by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company, and is a Pratt through-truss with pin connections and bottom chord eye-bars. The wooden flooring, covered with an asphalt road bed, is supported by riveted stringers and floor beams. Triangular nameplates are affixed atop each portal. Metallographic examination of three specimens from a post, a counter rod, and a hip vertical, conducted by the Beloit Foundry Company, revealed a typical microstructure of true wrought iron and iron silicate slag. In 1981 the bridge was in fair condition, covered with a layer of oxidation. It has since been scheduled for demolition. The Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company was founded in 1870 under the name 'Weinhagen Brothers, Engineers.' Its name was changed in 1880.
Survey number: HAER WI-4
Building/structure dates: 1887 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: after 1973 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 77000053