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Show r- - " - ., T -:' r r .. ' - - -"I.- ' . -' r I . r - ; - " " " , :: :-::. : !V w ---. , - ' " - " - J - taiij . , STAGE STOP-An early photo of the White River bridge at Ignacio. For over 20 years it operated as a toll bridge. In its heyday it was in The White River bridge at ignacio By George E.Long Approximately fifty miles southeast of Vernal, and about three miles south of the mining camp of Bonanza, is the long abandoned freight and stage stop of Ignacio, located along the White River. It was established in 1904 by the Uintah Railway Comnanv as a station to serve its stage and freight lines to the Basin towns of Vernal and Fort Duchesne. During the first years of existence the crossing took place one mile upstream from its present location. This place was referred to as White Ris-er Crossing. After several bouts with floods and ice jams which resulted in the destruction and loss of the former wooden bridge, a new metal structure was built at Igancio in the year 1912. This bridge served the community very well until such time due to the extreme size and weight of equipment it had to be abandoned and a stronger unit installed. in-stalled. Built by a private concern, the Uintah Railway Company, the bridge for two decades operated as a toll bridge, with a station master living nearby in a company dwelling, collecting tolls from those parties using the facility. In fact, the road itself from its beginning at the railroad towns of Watson and Dragon located some ten and twenty miles respectfully to the southeast and on into the Basin area, which included ferry operations at Alhandra and Ouray along the Green River was maintained and operated by the railway company. The Uintah Railway was a privately owned concern built by the Gilsonite Company to transport the valuable and rare ores from its mines in southeastern Uintah County to the railroad town of Mack, Colo. Due to the terrain the rail line from Mack to the mining towns of Dragon, Watson and Rainbow was made of narrow gauge. From the small town of Watson the deed a very busy place, and boasted quite a community for nearly 50 years. company operated a state and freight system on into the Basin. This was done until such time as modern highways and large trucks forced the curtailment of the little railroad. The metal bridge at Igancio for years nearby country for years wintered thousands of head of sheep. There were dozens of herds sheared here and at Coyote Wash just a few miles north, as well as at Watson., Gilsonite from the Bonanza area was hauled acorss the bridge on its way to the railroad at Watson. The mail for Vernal and the Basin area came this way for many years. There was also considerable passenger traffic in and out of the Basin that passed this way. There was almost a constant stream of freight wagons and coaches crossing daily, no doubt keeping the toll master about the most occupied man in the company's operation. There were several dwellings and families located here from the initial operation of the bridge up until nearly thirty years after it ceased to operate as a toll gathering unit. In the earlier years most of the people worked for the Uintah Railway Company in one way or another, and in later years they worked usually at the nearby gilsonite mines. The bridge weathered many a crisis down through the years. Many a flood and ice jam battered at her em-butments, em-butments, but she withstood them all. Built high above the waters of the unpredictable White River, she always came through with flying colors. Finally with the coming of huge modern day trucks, something beyond the wildest dream of those who erected her back in 1912, the bridge had to be closed. She was the second metal bridge of any consequence built in 1911. Today she still stands, a memento of an era of bygone days, yes, a reminder of the important activity and the industrious in-dustrious people that made it so, which took place in this once remote and isolated area. Most of those hard-working individuals in-dividuals who were a part of her and her nearly forgotten company are now gone, but if the names of each were stenciled on her beams and trusses, I doubt if there would be room enough to write them all. |