Bridge Bob - Mineola Nature Preserve - Mineola, TX - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

Bridge Bob Pond is easy to locate, within the Mineola Nature Preserve at 1860 Wood County Rd 2724, Mineola, TX. It's just off of one of the southern parking lots, and there are actually two identical historical markers here that read:

In the formative years of clearing the dense pine wilderness and the Sabine River lowlands, this area became the focal point of two great railroad companies, the International and Great Northern (I&GN) and the Texas and Pacific (T&P). The I&GN crossed the Sabine River and that required the building of numerous wooden bridges and trestles across the river bottom.

The legend of Bridge Bob resulted from a requirement that the railroad have someone attend to the wooden bridges and trestles so that no fire would start in the area as the train belched embers from its stack. An I&GN employee, Bob, now only known as Bridge Bob, was employed to examine the Sabine River rail bed areas and the approaches to ensure that there were no "sparkles" remaining from the passing trains, sparkles being the burning embers emanating from railroad engines burning coal.

Bob lived in a shanty on Nature Preserve property between the railroad tracks and U.S. Highway 80.

To supplement his income, Bridge Bob also hunted and fished and provided a variety of fish and game to the local citizens of Mineola, bringing his catch to town in a "croaker sack" and selling them.

When the railroad was terminated, Bob moved to Houston, leaving the legacy of "Bridge Bob". He is honored by the naming of this location in remembering all that he represents.

Location: Mineola Nature Preserve Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/21/2021 WalksfarTX visited it