Upper Twin Falls Bridge
About this property
The Upper Twin Falls Bridge is a bridge that spans the Menominee River linking Breitung Township, Michigan, to Florence County, Wisconsin. Completed in 1910, construction was prompted by the erection of a dam downstream. The bridge was closed to automobile traffic in 1971. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 2012. The Upper Twin Falls Bridge is a single-span, pin-connected, camelback, through-truss bridge. It crosses the Menominee River about four miles (6.4 km) north of Iron Mountain, Michigan. The bridge is the only known example of its type in Michigan and one of two in Wisconsin, however the other is not in its original location. In the early 1900s, the Peninsula Power Company planned to build the Twin Falls Power Dam on the Menominee River. Upstream was an existing bridge which would be flooded by construction of the dam and the filling of its reservoir. This prompted the construction of a new bridge. The Upper Twin Falls Bridge was designed by M. W. Torkelson of Wisconsin. Construction of the bridge took place from 1909 through 1910 and cost $5,106, paid for equally by Dickinson and Florence counties. Gilbert Vilas Carpenter supervised construction. The bridge's earthen approach causeways were built for $7,500, paid by the Twin Falls Land Association. Material for the Wisconsin approach was obtained from a borrow pit on the Wisconsin side and transported to the site by side-dumping flatcars on narrow gauge railway. The dam was completed in 1912. Gilbert Carpenter died in World War I following a torpedo attack en route from Cuba. In his honor, the Carpenter Monument was erected at the north end of the bridge and dedicated on Memorial Day, 1923. The memorial was partially funded by the Dickinson County Road Commission (DCRC) and its inscribed bronze plaque was provided by the Michigan State Highway Department. In the early 1930s, the Upper Twin Falls bridge carried US Highway 2 (US 2) and US Highway 141 (US 141). In 1934, a new bridge was built about a mile downstream and US 2 and US 141 were rerouted over the new span. The Upper Twin Falls Bridge closed to automobile traffic in September 1971. Ownership of the bridge and connecting roads was transferred to the DCRC and the Town of Florence. Robert Christensen, Michigan's coordinator for the National Register of Historic Places, opined in early 2013 that the bridge survived only because it had been bypassed by the other bridge. Around 2000, the county road commission began considering the removal or restoration of the bridge. However, the commission could not afford removal. One argument in favor of removal came from pontoon boat owners as the vessels are unable to pass underneath the bridge.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Upper Twin Falls Bridge listed on the National Register?
Upper Twin Falls Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 2012.
What type of historic resource is Upper Twin Falls Bridge?
Upper Twin Falls Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Upper Twin Falls Bridge?
The period of significance for Upper Twin Falls Bridge is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Upper Twin Falls Bridge?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Upper Twin Falls Bridge will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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