One reference I can find to a bridge being built at the site, or near the site, of the current State Street bridge is from the book History Of Bridgeport, Saginaw County, Michigan by T.J. Pollen first published in 1912, then reprinted by The Saginaw Genealogical Society in 1978:
"By an act of the Supervisors of January 6, 1847, a bridge was ordered to be built at Bridgeport and a contract was made with Townsend North to build said bridge for $3,750, to be paid in state improvement lands. These lands were set aside by the first state constitution and defined and specified by Michigan's first State Governor, Stevens T. Mason"..... "The bridge was located back of the gristmill or near where the present iron bridge is. It was accepted January 5, 1848 and Mr. North was given title to sections, 17, 18, 19 and 20 and part of section 30, in town 12 north, range 8 east. All these lands were valued at $1.25 an acre."
Below are links to some old plat maps of downtown Bridgeport and Bridgeport Township. The 1877 maps show no bridge in the State Street area, but there does appear to be one on Fayette St. and another on the Dixie Highway towards Birch Run. It sounds like the bridge referenced in the History of Bridgeport may be the bridge on Dixie Hwy towards Frankenmuth / Birch Run?
From 1877:
Downtown Bridgeport - http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/22866/Bridgeport/Saginaw+County+1877/Michigan/
Bridgeport Township - http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/22865/Bridgeport+Township/Saginaw+County+1877/Michigan/
From 1896, which does now show a bridge at State Street. The bridge on Fayette St. does not appear any longer on this map. - http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/1599801/Bridgeport+Township++Cass+Bridge/Saginaw+County+1896/Michigan/
On the Wikipedia page for the State Street Bridge they state "A series of bridges crossing the Cass River were constructed near what is now Bridgeport, starting in about 1841 with a crossing on the federal turnpike a few miles southeast. By the 1870s, a bridge was constructed about a half-mile south of the current location. In about 1886, a timber bridge was constructed at the current location and the road rerouted along the west side of the river to connect to the site of the previous bridge. However, by the turn of the century this timber bridge had deteriorated. In 1906, a portion of the bridge was destroyed by floating debris, and subsequent inspection revealed that the support pilings were rotted through. The township approved a bond issue, and later that year hired the Joliet Bridge and Iron Company to construct a new bridge"
This version of the history of bridges in Bridgeport does line up with the plat maps and more of the history from the T.J. Pollen book:
"The village was first called "The Bend of the Cass", or "Cass Bend" owing to the angle of the river at this point, while the place now called "Cass Bridge" was the original Bridgeport, owing to the first bridge built there on the main trail from Flint." The Cass Bridge area was the area towards Frankenmuth / Birch Run by Riverview. This area was referred to in the newspapers as "Cass Bridge" from the 1800's to the early 1900's.
On the 1916 plat maps for downtown Bridgeport and Bridgeport Township, the bridge at Fayette St. is no longer there. I couldn't find any history on it to know when it disappeared and I can't remember when it was finally rebuilt. The Fayette St. bridge has been there since I was a child but I know people older than me said that the State St. bridge was the only way to cross the river here in town.
Downtown Bridgeport
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/22086/Bridgeport/Saginaw+County+1916/Michigan/
Bridgeport Township
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/22085/Bridgeport+Township/Saginaw+County+1916/Michigan/
There was one other bridge in the township that showed up in the newspapers. It was called the "Town Line Bridge" or the "Cass River Bridge" over Town Line Rd. It was between Bridgeport and Spaulding Townships. In 1885 the Saginaw News was calling the battle surrendering that bridge "The Bridge War". The bridge was built with the understanding that Bridgeport and Spaulding would share in the cost of building and the maintenance of the bridge. By 1885 the bridge had fallen into disrepair and Spaulding was fighting to get Bridgeport to honor their financial commitment, saying that Bridgeport had not provided any funds for the bridge since it was first built. It was a battle in the newspapers, the Board of Supervisors and possibly the courts. Eventually it looks like Bridgeport and Spaulding were paying equal shares for the maintenance of the bridge.
In The Saginaw Evening News from January 22, 1906 is a story about the unseasonably warm weather and storms, and the damage it caused to the State Street Bridge:
"Early in the day reports were received from Frankenmuth and Bridgeport that the ice had all moved out of the Cass during the night, and the shove had so damaged the bridge at Bridgeport that it became necessary to close it in the interests of public safety. There was also reported an immense volume of water in the river, which was hourly swelling and growing to flood proportions, so that colder weather was looked forward to with much anxiety."
The story told of severe thunder and lightening storms with temperatures in the 60's. The ice was also broken up in the Saginaw River but could not move out because it was blocked by the ice in the Saginaw Bay.
There were more stories in The Saginaw Evening News on January 23, 1906 of the damage caused by the storms and ice movement. Bridges were damaged or totally taken out in Saginaw and all through Saginaw County. Houseboats on the Saginaw River were smashed to pieces. The State Street Bridge here in Bridgeport was finished off now:
"By an act of the Supervisors of January 6, 1847, a bridge was ordered to be built at Bridgeport and a contract was made with Townsend North to build said bridge for $3,750, to be paid in state improvement lands. These lands were set aside by the first state constitution and defined and specified by Michigan's first State Governor, Stevens T. Mason"..... "The bridge was located back of the gristmill or near where the present iron bridge is. It was accepted January 5, 1848 and Mr. North was given title to sections, 17, 18, 19 and 20 and part of section 30, in town 12 north, range 8 east. All these lands were valued at $1.25 an acre."
Below are links to some old plat maps of downtown Bridgeport and Bridgeport Township. The 1877 maps show no bridge in the State Street area, but there does appear to be one on Fayette St. and another on the Dixie Highway towards Birch Run. It sounds like the bridge referenced in the History of Bridgeport may be the bridge on Dixie Hwy towards Frankenmuth / Birch Run?
From 1877:
Downtown Bridgeport - http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/22866/Bridgeport/Saginaw+County+1877/Michigan/
Bridgeport Township - http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/22865/Bridgeport+Township/Saginaw+County+1877/Michigan/
From 1896, which does now show a bridge at State Street. The bridge on Fayette St. does not appear any longer on this map. - http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/1599801/Bridgeport+Township++Cass+Bridge/Saginaw+County+1896/Michigan/
On the Wikipedia page for the State Street Bridge they state "A series of bridges crossing the Cass River were constructed near what is now Bridgeport, starting in about 1841 with a crossing on the federal turnpike a few miles southeast. By the 1870s, a bridge was constructed about a half-mile south of the current location. In about 1886, a timber bridge was constructed at the current location and the road rerouted along the west side of the river to connect to the site of the previous bridge. However, by the turn of the century this timber bridge had deteriorated. In 1906, a portion of the bridge was destroyed by floating debris, and subsequent inspection revealed that the support pilings were rotted through. The township approved a bond issue, and later that year hired the Joliet Bridge and Iron Company to construct a new bridge"
This version of the history of bridges in Bridgeport does line up with the plat maps and more of the history from the T.J. Pollen book:
"The village was first called "The Bend of the Cass", or "Cass Bend" owing to the angle of the river at this point, while the place now called "Cass Bridge" was the original Bridgeport, owing to the first bridge built there on the main trail from Flint." The Cass Bridge area was the area towards Frankenmuth / Birch Run by Riverview. This area was referred to in the newspapers as "Cass Bridge" from the 1800's to the early 1900's.
On the 1916 plat maps for downtown Bridgeport and Bridgeport Township, the bridge at Fayette St. is no longer there. I couldn't find any history on it to know when it disappeared and I can't remember when it was finally rebuilt. The Fayette St. bridge has been there since I was a child but I know people older than me said that the State St. bridge was the only way to cross the river here in town.
Downtown Bridgeport
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/22086/Bridgeport/Saginaw+County+1916/Michigan/
Bridgeport Township
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/22085/Bridgeport+Township/Saginaw+County+1916/Michigan/
There was one other bridge in the township that showed up in the newspapers. It was called the "Town Line Bridge" or the "Cass River Bridge" over Town Line Rd. It was between Bridgeport and Spaulding Townships. In 1885 the Saginaw News was calling the battle surrendering that bridge "The Bridge War". The bridge was built with the understanding that Bridgeport and Spaulding would share in the cost of building and the maintenance of the bridge. By 1885 the bridge had fallen into disrepair and Spaulding was fighting to get Bridgeport to honor their financial commitment, saying that Bridgeport had not provided any funds for the bridge since it was first built. It was a battle in the newspapers, the Board of Supervisors and possibly the courts. Eventually it looks like Bridgeport and Spaulding were paying equal shares for the maintenance of the bridge.
Beginning Of The New Iron State Street Bridge In 1906
In The Saginaw Evening News from January 22, 1906 is a story about the unseasonably warm weather and storms, and the damage it caused to the State Street Bridge:
ICE MOVED OUT OF CASS RIVER
BRIDGE PUT OUT OF COMMISSION - NOVELTY OF THUNDER STORM GIVEN IN JANUARY "Early in the day reports were received from Frankenmuth and Bridgeport that the ice had all moved out of the Cass during the night, and the shove had so damaged the bridge at Bridgeport that it became necessary to close it in the interests of public safety. There was also reported an immense volume of water in the river, which was hourly swelling and growing to flood proportions, so that colder weather was looked forward to with much anxiety."
The story told of severe thunder and lightening storms with temperatures in the 60's. The ice was also broken up in the Saginaw River but could not move out because it was blocked by the ice in the Saginaw Bay.
There were more stories in The Saginaw Evening News on January 23, 1906 of the damage caused by the storms and ice movement. Bridges were damaged or totally taken out in Saginaw and all through Saginaw County. Houseboats on the Saginaw River were smashed to pieces. The State Street Bridge here in Bridgeport was finished off now:
Bridgeport Bridge Gone
"Some time during the night a tree on its way down assisted the ice and knocked out the center span of the bridge over the Cass River at Bridgeport. The structure was a frame one and had been condemned so the loss will not be great."
From The Saginaw Evening News of January 25, 1906:
TO HOLD MASS MEETING
Bridgeport Will Take Up Question of Bridge at That Place Tonight.
"A number of representative residents of Bridgeport were in the city Thursday morning in consultation with R.A. Raymond, resident agent for Joliet Bridge Company, as to details in connection with a proposition to build a new bridge across the Cass, to replace the wooden structure put out of commission by the high water which came with the early part of the week. There is to be a mass meeting at Bridgeport Thursday night to consider the whole matter, and the township authorities are informing themselves as far as they possibly can in advance."
From the Saginaw Courier Herald of February 20, 1906 is the petition made on January 29, 1906 to the Saginaw County Board of Supervisors:
"Gentlemen - Your petitioners, the township board of the township of Bridgeport and the highway commissioner of said township respectfully represent to your Honorable Board that in their opinion it is necessary to build a bridge in said township of Bridgeport over the Cass river on the line of highway, known as State street, where said highway crosses said river. Said wooden bridge at said point has been damaged by high water and has been built for such a length of time that it has decayed and is rotten. State street being one of the main thoroughfares of said township, it is absolutely necessary to rebuild the bridge at said point, and your petitioners believe that it is necessary to build an iron bridge, as it will be cheaper in the long run for said township. That pursuant to section 4131 of the compiled laws of the State of Michigan, 1897, the amount of money that can be raised is but one-half of one per cent of the assessed valuation of the real and personal estate of the township as it appears by the last assessment roll, which is $800.00?, which would only be $4,000 that could be raised for the purpose of building said bridge, and in the opinion of your petitioners said bridge at said point will cost between $7,000 and $9,000. In the opinion of your petitioners it is necessary that your Honorable Body authorize the township of Bridgeport, by the vote of the electors of said township, to borrow or raise by tax upon said township a sum of money not exceeding $10,000 to build a bridge over the Cass river on the line of highway known as State street, where said highway crosses the river, pursuant to subdivision 15 of section 11 of Act No. 98 of the Public Acts of 1905 of the State of Michigan. And your petitioners will every pray."
John Hummel, Supervisor
John Gatz, Justice
Ira E. Green, Justice
Bert G. Atherton, Clerk
Township Board of Bridgeport,
Silas Cook, Highway Commissioner
The Saginaw County Board of Supervisors approved their request and granted them the right to borrow $8,000 that was to be repaid at the rate of $1,000 per year from 1908 through 1915. The money was to be assessed and collected in the same manner as other taxes for the township.
Election results from Saginaw County in the Saginaw Courier Herald on April 3, 1906 for Bridgeport showed that the proposition for a new bridge passed by a majority of 110 votes.
The New State Street Bridge Finally Opens
From the Saginaw Evening News of December 15, 1906 is this mention of the new iron bridge:
"Hiram Green, the oldest settler in the township of Bridgeport (with the exception of L. Hodgman) has the honor of being the first to drive across the new span erected by the Joliet Bridge & Iron Co. across the Cass river at Bridgeport."
These two sites have some history and images of the State Street Bridge:
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