Sevier River Bridge, Spanning Sevier River approximately 300 meters North of Highway 132, Leamington

Source document Quoted word for word from HAER UTAH,14-LEAM,1-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

The Sevier River Bridge is a rare example in Utah of multi-span, wood plank stringer/multi-beam construction. It is also significant as a Great Depression-era Works Progress Administration funded project. Authors: Kim A. Hyatt, Architect Donald W. Corbeil, Intern Architect Smith Balle Hyatt Architects Bountiful, Utah. Date: June, Sevier River Bridge HAER No. UT-88 (page 2) D. fflSTORY A. BACKGROUND As Mormon pioneers moved southward across the Utah territory, some settled a number of towns without the formal authorization of the church.

In the autumn of a small group of people from nearby Oak City visited the present site of Leamington to inspect the possibilities for farming and grazing.1 To obtain water, the settlers built a small dam across the Sevier river in order to irrigate the fertile yet dry soils of the valley. The first dam washed away the day after it was built; it was successfully rebuilt the following year. This early irrigation of the surrounding valley eventually opened the way to the actual settlement of Leamington in when the first few homes were built.

Frank Young, one of the early settlers and a nephew of Brigham Young, named the town "Leamington," after a town in England by the same name.2 Within a few years following the first settlement, the community numbered approximately one-hundred, with a few stores, a saloon, and a small post office. In the Union Pacific railroad was built near Leamington as part of the main line between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. The resources required by the railroad stimulated the local economy, mainly through the need for the locally abundant cedar trees, which were used to make thousands of railroad ties.

The cedar trees were also used in the manufacture of charcoal in the kilns east of town, and this charcoal was shipped to smelters in Murray, Utah.3 These kilns were established close to the railroad track, facilitating the shipping of charcoal to the smelters in northern Utah. In the Ibex mining company built a smelter in the mountains northeast of Leamington that was financed by Underwood, a Denver millionaire. The construction of this smelter ushered in an expansive industrial period for Leamington, as hundreds of men were employed and thousands of dollars were invested. This growth was to be of short duration however, since the ore that was being mined there, Sevier River Bridge HAER No.

UT-88 (page 3) galena, could not be supplied in sufficient quantities with which to keep the smelter running profitably. The smelter was in operation for only seven months before closing down. Shortly after, many of the smelter buildings and buildings that housed the mine officials were moved to Leamington to be used for other purposes, including a new meeting house, an LDS Relief Society hall, a hotel, and several residences.4 The Mclntyre ranch, which sits adjacent to the Sevier river, has also been a significant part of the history of the area. In the early several brothers of the Mclntyre family began to run cattle from Texas to Utah, which they sold at auction.

With their profits, they soon began to purchase some of the earlier homestead tracts near Leamington in order to establish a ranch in the valley. They also obtained the necessary water rights to the Sevier river to support their growing ranching business. In the family built a large canal which opened up over one-thousand acres to irrigation.5 The ranch has proven to be a major asset to the community over the years by providing a source of jobs in cattle and farming. In the early twentieth century, the Leamington area changed in several ways. The further development of additional water resources from the Sevier River led to the founding of the nearby communities of and Delta (in and respectively), as well as the expansion of alfalfa seed production and other crops in the valley.

This region in Millard County became the leader in producing alfalfa seed in Utah, much of which was shipped to the large eastern markets. Some of the residents in the and gained employment in mining and shipping fluorspar, and later, beryllium mining and milling. More recently, the construction and operation of the Intermountain Power Project (IPP), a large coal burning power plant that supplies electricity to Southern California, has generated a limited number of jobs, as well as a growing concern over air pollution.6 These changes are symbolic of the challenges that are facing Leamington, Delta, and other small towns in rural Utah. Yet up to this point, the town maintains its heritage as a predominantly Mormon agricultural community. Sevier River Bridge HAER No. UT-88 (page 4) B.

NEED FOR THE BRIDGE /

Construction Chronology

There is no record of how long a bridge has been at the Sevier River Bridge location; however, this river crossing has provided a way to the Ibex smelter located in the mountains north of Leamington since the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Mclntyre ranch was located on the south side of the river approximately near the current bridge. In March of the Millard County Board of Commissioners received a petition from Leamington residents asking for a connecting road between their town and State Route 26, a distance of approximately six miles.7 Using partial funding from the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), the road was built (including the Sevier River Bridge) during the summer of Labor for the construction came from Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the U.S.

Government.8 Materials likely came from the timbers of bridges on the Delta Branch of the Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, the salvage rights for which the county secured in March, Although much of the cost of the bridge and other concurrent road projects in Millard County was covered by the U.S. government, the remaining costs crippled the Millard County budget. In a September, letter to the WPA, the County Clerk complained "that the County has cooperated with the FERA program (and) the road fund is nearly exhausted."10 It is unknown whether Millard County ever received additional funds for the road projects; Its plight was not unique, however.

Partially because of the influx of federal funds and the resulting increase in road projects, the Utah State Road Commission, in its Annual Report stated that the State had depleted its road funds to an unusual degree." HI. THE SEVIER RIVER BRIDGE A.

Description

The bridge was built of wood planks, and is of stringer/multi-beam or girder construction. The bridge is 43 feet long and feet wide from curb to curb. Each individual span is 14 feet in length. The timber planks were originally covered with gravel to provide a stable road surface. There are three main spans Sevier River Bridge HAER No. UT-88 (page 5) supported by cast-in-place concrete piers. The abutments are also of cast-in-place concrete. The guard rails are steel supported by timber columns. This bridge is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under criterion C. The bridge embodies distinctive characteristics of the stringer/multi-beam or girder construction.

This type of bridge construction was common in Utah, but the Sevier River Bridge's multiple-span configuration distinguishes it from other bridges of the same construction type. C. MODIFICATIONS There is no documentation of any modifications to the Sevier River Bridge. The metal guard rails on each side of the bridge appear to be later additions. Marks on each stringer indicate that the replaced guard rails had smaller, more narrowly spaced uprights than the existing rail. D.

Ownership and Future

The Sevier River Bridge is owned and maintained by Millard County. It is slated for replacement by the Utah Department of Transportation in as part of several bridge replacement projects in Millard County. Several structural elements, including the columns and girders show signs of deterioration, and will become increasingly unsafe with the traffic requirements of the future. Since the Sevier River Bridge is eligible for National Register of Historic Places listing as an example of a design type that is rare in Utah and for its WPA associations,12 it has been photographically documented in order to preserve this example of historic state bridge construction. Sevier River Bridge HAER No. UT-88 (page 6)

Project Information

This Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) recording project was completed for the Federal Highway Administration, Utah Division. Kim A. Hyatt, Historic Architect, with the assistance of Donald W. Corbeil, Intern Historic Architect, was responsible for researching and writing the history for the Sevier River Bridge in Millard County, Utah. This report was prepared in February of Sevier River Bridge HAER No. UT-88 (page 7) VH. BIBLIOGRAPHY A. BOOKS Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Milestones of Millard: 100 Years of History of Millard County. DUP of Millard County. Art City Publishing. Knowlton, Ezra C. History of Highway Development in Utah. Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah State Road Commission, B. NEWSPAPER Leamarado Days: Spring C. MISCELLANEOUS Hughes, Charles E.

A Cultural and Paleontological Resource Inventory of the Proposed Bridge Replacement Protects near Leamington and Delta. Millard County. Utah. Baseline Data Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah. April Millard County Commission, "Millard County Commissioner's Minute Book F" pp 178 (5 March 185 (3 September "Sevier River Bridge" Utah Historic Bridge Inventory Data Form. On file at the Office of Locations and Environmental Studies, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City, Utah. Seiver River Bridge HAER No. WI-88 (Page 8) VI. ENDNOTES 1. Daughters of the Utah Pioneers: Milestones of Millard: One Hundred years of History of Millard County (DUP of Millard County: Art City Council, 2. Ibid., pg. 496 3. Ibid., pg. 4. Ibid., pg. 5. 'Leamarado Days' newspaper; Section 1, pg. 2. 6.

Hughes, Charles E., A Cultural and Paleontolotdcal Resource Inventory of the Proposed Bridge Replacement Projects near Leamington and Delta: Millard County. Utah. Baseline Data Inc. Salt Lake City, Utah. April 7. "Sevier River Bridge" Utah Historic Bridge Inventory Data Form, on file at the Office of Locations and Environmental Studies, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City, Utah. 8. Ibid. 9. Ibid. 10. Millard County Commission, "Millard County Commissioner's Minute Book F", pg. 185 (3 September Quoted in "Sevier River Bridge" Utah Historic Bridge Inventory Data Form, on file at the Office of Locations and Environmental Studies, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City, Utah. 11. Knowlton, Ezra C, History of Highway Development in Utah.

(Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah State Road Commission, p. 12. Ibid., pg. 7. 1IAER Nu. MI 00 SEVIER RIVER BRIDGE HAER DOCUMENTATION LEAMINGTON, MILLARD COUNTY, UTAH SMITH BALLE HYATT ARCHITECTS MILE BOUNTIFUL. UTAH w& WM &/& COUNTY: F 0 MILLARD LEGEND QUAD: KAST N UTAH PROVISIONAL EDITION USGS 7.5 MIN