Bryan Co., OK; History - Red River Bridge --------------------------------- Trudy Marlow --------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ---------------------------------------------------- RED RIVER BRIDGE As early as, 1872, Indian Territory and Texas were linked to the United States, through the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (M.K.T. Railroad) railway. In 1931, Oklahoma and Texas were linked again by the building of the Red River Bridge. Senator Loy first proposed the Red River Bridge in 1927 with a free bridge bill. Then in 1928 the highway officials in Texas and Oklahoma meet to discuss the demand for free bridges which came with the development of motor traffic. The proposal for a free bridge was met by controversy. In 1875, the Chickasaw and Choctaw Indian Nations granted B.F. Colbert the right to operate a ferry (Rock Bluff Ferry.) Later, Mr. Colbert sold his rights to operate the ferry to the Red River Bridge Company. The Bridge Company built a toll bridge and the company claimed jurisdiction over the riverbank two and a half miles on each side of the bridge. The Bridge Company charged a rate of 75 cents per vehicle, one-dollar round trip to use the toll bridge. The Red River Bridge Company protested the building of a new free bridge on the grounds of a franchise. The Bridge Company and the two states ended up in court. As the controversy dragged on, the question of the rights of the Indians to grant a franchise in the first place and who actually owned the river bed were brought into the battle. The matter was settled when the Texas Highway department agreed to buy the bridge for $60,000 to allow the Red River Bridge company to operate the toll bridge for 14 months and to pay $10,000 per month for every month less than that period that the bridge was used. The construction of the bridge got under way in January of 1930. The construction was under the supervision of the Texas Highway department. Only a few days before the scheduled opening date, the Red River Bridge Company brought suit against the state. The Bridge Company claimed that the Texas highway department had not fulfilled its contract and the bridge could not be opened. Next, Oklahoma threatened to sue Texas for not carrying out their agreement for building and maintaining the free bridge. Tension between the two states escalated and Gov. Sterling of Texas sent Texas Rangers to enforce the federal order that the bridge could not be opened on the grounds that the Texas highway department had not fullfilled its contract. Likewise, Governor Murray of Oklahoma sent in the National Guard to enforce his declaration of martial law. Thus began the Red River Bridge War of 1931. The war ended when a bill passed in the Texas legislature, introducedby Senator Loy to buy the toll bridge for $50,000. Texas then deeded the bridge to Grayson County. The opening celebration took place on September 7, 1931 (Labor Day).