Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Friends of the Rail Bridge and the National Trust for Historic Preservation announced the Bismarck – Mandan Rail Bridge has been named to America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
The historic 1883 rail bridge, owned by BNSF Railway, is an iconic landmark for the community and state. Its image is ubiquitous, appearing in everything from corporate advertising to family portraits.
It was the first bridge to cross the upper Missouri. George Shattuck Morison designed and oversaw its construction between 1880 and 1883. The project employed advanced construction methods, including pneumatic caissons such as those used to build its contemporary, the Brooklyn Bridge. Arguably, it is the most historically significant structure on the Northern Plains.
Jay Clemens, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for the National Trust says, “Few structures embody so many of the complex historical themes associated with the opening of the Upper Missouri region to settlement – opportunity for immigrants, the corresponding dislocation and subjugation of native peoples, the economic and political power of the railroads, the resulting rise of prairie populism, and the strains and opportunities associated with an increasingly smaller world and faster access to information and commodities. Many of these themes challenge us as much today as they did when the bridge was built.”
Friends of the Rail Bridge (FORB) is dedicated to the preservation and repurposing the 1883 railroad bridge that spans the Missouri River between Bismarck and Mandan. FORB received two grants in 2018— a Community Innovation Grant to explore public-private partnerships. The other allows the completion of a feasibility study that to help facilitate planning and consultation in negotiations with the U.S. Coast Guard, BNSF and other state and federal agencies under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has been protecting America’s historic buildings, landscapes and neighborhoods for more than 60 years. Places like Antietam National Battlefield, Jamestown, Virginia, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch have been threatened by neglect, insufficient funds, inappropriate development or insensitive public policy.
For more information on the mission of FORBto “Bridging Community Through History, Education, and Recreation” visit
