Faust Street Bridge - New Braunfels, TX
Posted by: 
vhasler
N 29° 41.817 W 098° 06.495
14R E 586269 N 3285538
The wrought iron truss bridge, built in 1887, connects Faust and Porter Streets across the Guadalupe River.
Waymark Code: WMKPT2
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/13/2014
Views: 5
The coordinates are at the Texas historical marker (Waymark WMKNC1) which is on the west end of the bridge - and the east end of Faust Street. The bridge is no longer open to vehicle traffic, but handles bicycles and pedestrians.
Per the excellent reference by Comal County (Secondary Website 1 link below), the marker application informs us that:
Caravans carrying supplies to Spanish missions in east Texas and other travelers crossed the Guadalupe River on El Camino Real (The King's Highway) near this site in the 18th century. It sometimes took weeks for floodwaters to subside so travelers could cross.
In 1887, the Comal County commissioners court contracted with the King Iron Bridge Company of Ohio to build a high water bridge over the Guadalupe River. The contract was awarded to King Iron Bridge Co. (Cleveland, OH) for the low bid of $25,600. Total cost, including land, trusses, piers, and engineering, was $33,269. An equivalent value of $8 million today using relative average income for comparison.
The bridge was removed from traffic service in 1978 due to fire damage.
Sign on end of bridge reads:
1887
H.E. Fischer, County Judge
C. Buehler, F. Marckwardt, W. Weidner, C. Alves, Commissioners
W.R. Freeman, Engineer
Street address:
Faust Street
New Braunfels, TX USA
County / Borough / Parish: Comal County
Year listed: 2009
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924, 1875-1899
Historic function: Transportation
Current function: Transportation
Privately owned?: no
Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2014 To: 12/31/2014
Hours of operation: From: 12:00 AM To: 12:00 AM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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