County of bridge: Clinton County
Location of bridge: 1st St. & Fairfax St., Carlyle
Bridge built: 1859
The Person:
William Frishe Dean Sr. (August 1, 1899 – August 24, 1981) was a United States Army major general during World War II and the Korean War. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions on July 20 and 21, 1950, during the Battle of Taejon in South Korea. Dean also became the highest ranking American officer captured by an enemy force since the 17 American generals captured by Imperial Japan after the fall of the Philippines when he was captured by North Korea during the Korean War.
Dean attended the University of California at Berkeley before graduating with a commission in the US Army through the Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) in 1921. Slowly rising up the ranks in the inter-war years, Dean worked a desk job in Washington D.C. for much of World War II before being transferred to the 44th Infantry Division which he later commanded during the final days of the war, and was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross.
Dean is known for commanding the 24th Infantry Division at the outbreak of the Korean War. Dean led the division for several weeks in successive delaying battles against the North Koreans, before he led his division in making a last stand at Taejon. During the confused retreat from that city, Dean was separated from his soldiers and badly injured, and was eventually captured by the North Koreans. He remained in North Korean custody near P'yongyang for the remainder of the war. After the end of the conflict, Dean returned to the United States to a hero's welcome. He retired from the Army soon after and lived a quiet life until his death." ~ Wikipedia
The Structure:
THE GENERAL DEAN SUSPENSION BRIDGE
This bridge was built in 1859 at a cost of $40,000 and used for nearly seventy years. Previously, travelers at Carlyle crossed the Kaskaskia by ferry or on a mud bridge supported by logs. The Historic American Buildings Survey recognized the architectural significance of this bridge in 1950 and recommended its preservation. In 1951 the State Legislature appropriated $20,000 for restoration work. The bridge was named in honor of Major General William F. Dean, a Korean War hero and Carlyle native, in 1953. As of 1976 this was the only suspension bridge in Illinois." ~ the Carlyle Junior Woman's Club and the Illinois State Historical Society
"This bridge was built in 1859 at a cost of $40,000 and used for nearly seventy years.
Previously, travelers at Carlyle crossed the Kaskaskia River by ferry or on a mud bridge
supported by logs. The Historic American Buildings Survey recognized the architectural
significance of this bridge in 1950 and recommended its preservation. In 1951 the State
Legislature appropriated $20,000 for restoration work. The bridge was named in honor
of Major General William F. Dean, a Korean War hero and Carlyle native, in 1953. As
of 1976 this was the only suspension bridge in Illinois.
"Noted as the crowning event of the era, Clinton County commissioned the construction of
what was then called the Suspension Bridge. The Bridge was meant to replace use of the
ford, a ferry, and wooden bridge that had already been put to use for crossing the
Kaskaskia River but which was supposedly broken by a circus troupe. The original cost
of the Bridge was $45,000 and was constructed by Griffith D. Smith of Pennsylvania.
Clinton County called for the construction of the Bridge to be 280 feet from tower to
tower, which would be 35 feet in height and be used as anchors for the cables to hold up
the bridge. The bridge was built in 1859 and was opened for traffic in 1860. Use of the bridge was free to residents of Clinton County, but non-residents were required to pay a toll.
"A sign was affixed to the Bridge which read, word for word, as follows:
“Warning: this bridge is unsafe for anyone crossing with heavy loads does so at
his own risk. Anyone driving horses faster than a walk or an automobile faster
than 10 miles an hour will be prosecuted. Ben Kiffmeyer, Highway Comm.”
"Despite this warning, the Bridge is said to have experienced several “weight tests.” The
wooden floor of the bridge was seen to cave into the shape of a half moon and the cables
were squeaking during the stampede of seventy head of cattle across the bridge. During
the 1911 oil boom (discussed below), the bridge was further stressed as heavy drilling
equipment was brought to town for drilling. The floor of the Suspension Bridge finally
broke in 1913 when the driver of a heavy truck heading westbound stopped in the middle
of the bridge when it started to give way. An attempt was made to pull the truck across
the bridge to safety, but this could not be done before it eventually fell to the shores of
the Kaskaskia. A man was in the truck trying to drag it across when it collapsed. He fell
with the truck to the shores, but was not killed, only badly injured.
"The Suspension Bridge floor was reconstructed allowing the bridge to reopen. However,
available text on the matter mentions the bridge ultimately “broke” in October of 1920.
The State of Illinois financed the reconstruction of the bridge but at a new location about
three hundred feet south of the Suspension Bridge, in the location of the current Bridge.
It was opened for traffic in 1925 over the ford of the Kaskaskia River, part of the Goshen
Trail, which brought travelers to what has become Carlyle.
"The new Suspension Bridge was constructed in a manner which allowed the ends of the
Bridge to swing along the stone abutments at either end. The ability to swing the Bridge
in such a manner caused Carlyle residents to call it the “Swinging Bridge.” Residents
who were fortunate to live during this time tell stories of causing the bridge to swing
unexpectedly for people who happened to be strolling across it.
"Only 21 years later in 1946, the Carlyle Suspension Bridge Restoration Bridge
Association was formed to help raise money for its restoration because of its rapid
disintegration. In 1951, Illinois Representatives Edwin Haag, “a former Carlyle boy,”
and Robert Branson sponsored legislation to appropriate $20,000 towards restoration of
the Bridge. Governor Adlai Stevenson approved the appropriation. By November 1953,
restoration of the Bridge was substantially complete, and it was decided to name the
structure the General Dean Memorial Bridge in honor of William Frisch Dean, a former
Carlyle resident and World War II and Korean War hero. Approximately 30,000 people
are said to have attended the November 1953 dedication of the Bridge, which General
Dean also attended.
"Today, the General Dean Memorial Bridge is still called the “Swinging Bridge” by some.
It still stands overlooking fishermen on the banks of the Kaskaskia and greeting drivers as
they leave or enter Carlyle on Old U.S. Route 50 near Carlyle’s eastern corporate limits.
The General Dean Bridge is listed on the National Historic Registry and is the only
suspension bridge of its kind in Illinois." ~ A Brief History of Carlyle