Bridges of Prowers County
Location: various locations
County: Prowers County
Date Constructed: 1935, 1936
Built by: FERA and WPA
Architectural Description:
Prowers County has several bridges that were built during the New Deal era. The North Butte Creek Bridge and the North Butte Creek Tributary Bridge are located on County Road 16 and are both made of quarry-faced coursed ashlar and irregularly-shaped fieldstone. The North Butte Creek Bridge has three spans while the North Butte Creek Tributary Bridge has two spans. The two-span Cat Creek Bridge is located on County Road 3 and the one-span Two Butte Creek Tributary Bridge is located on County Road 28. Both are made of quarry-faced coursed ashlar. The Two Butte Creek Tributary Bridge is more stylized and resembles the much larger Douglas Crossing Bridge, which has its own entry. The Middle Plum Creek Bridge on County Road 21 is a cable bridge cross-tensioned through truss. Lastly, the Middle Plum Creek Tributary Bridge is on County Road 22. Its stone arches have been destroyed and are now piled alongside the bridge.
Historical Background:
The North Butte Creek Bridge and the North Butte Creek Tributary Bridge were constructed under the same project. The project was likely started by FERA but finished by the WPA. Federal grants were $7,585.48, and local contributions were $680. The Cat Creek Bridge was built by the WPA on a project citing two bridges. However, the second bridge has not yet been identified. The federal allocation for this project was $3,659.99 with a local contribution of $192.50. The Two Butte Creek Tributary Bridge was built as a WPA project along with the Douglas Crossing Bridge. Total federal grants for this project were $17,400 with local contributions of $2,200, but it is unclear how much was spent on which specifically. The Middle Plum Creek Bridge was also built by the WPA. The project included the salvaging the steel from three other bridges in order to construct the Middle Plum Creek Bridge. Federal spending on this project was $2,608 with a local match of $877. The Middle Plum Creek Tributary Bridge was likely a WPA project but records have not been found to confirm this. Regardless, the bridge was significantly changed in 1965 and its historic character does not remain.