NRHP: Big Blue River Bridge, Surprise
Contents
Big Blue River Bridge
NRHP Reference #: 92000708
NRHP Listing Date: 19920629
Location
1 mi SE of Surprise, Butler County, Nebraska
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Summary
Located a mile from the small town of Surprise, this small-scale bridge consists of a single-span pinned Pratt bedstead, flanked on each end by a single steel stringer approach. According to county records, the Butler County Supervisors awarded a contract to the Canton Bridge Company for a bridge over the Blue River near Surprise. Using components rolled in Pittsburgh by Jones and Laughlin, the Ohio-based bridge contractor evidently erected this bedstead early the next year. The Big Blue River Bridge is technologically significant as one of the oldest documentable examples in Nebraska of this peculiar structural type.
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About the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the country’s official list of historically significant properties. To be eligible for the NRHP a property must generally retain their historic appearance, be at least 50 years old, and have the potential to be documented as historically or architecturally significant at either the local, state, or national level. The National Register of Historic Places is a National Park Service program administered by the Nebraska State Historical Society for the state of Nebraska. Visit the Nebraska State Historical Society's website to learn more about the program.
