One of the things we all take for granted today, is our great transportation system. We have paved roads, bridges that are hopefully reliable, and cars and trucks that whisk up anywhere we want to go in short order.

It wasn’t always that way. The pioneers had to find ways to ford streams or build ferries, or throw up makeshift bridges. I was looking through Maple Hill News Items and found a few notes about bridges and roads.

On August 6, 1873, a special election was held in Maple Hill Township that would allow selling bonds for a bridge across Mill Creek at Waterman’s Crossing, later known as Romick’s and today as Dieter’s on K-30. The election passed overwhelmingly.

However it would appear that it took several years to complete the project. On March 6, 1878, the following article appeared: “The bridge across Mill Creek is being rapidly pushed to completion. Many people have provided skills and labor. Material was shipped to St. Marys, Kansas and then hauled to the site by Mr. Matthews. The new bridge will provide great convenience.”

On July 3, 1890, in the Maple Hill News Items: “The new suspension bridge across Mill Creek at Vera has been completed.” I wonder what was used to cross the creek prior to that. It seems the water is pretty deep where the bridge now crosses Mill Creek at Vera, so did they build a log bridge prior to the suspension bridge?

On February 1, 1891 it was reported that the new suspension bridge across Mill Creek on the Tod Ranch was nearing completion. The water is shallow in that location, and there are limestone riffles there, so it’s likely there was a low-water ford prior to the bridge. Does anyone know for sure?

On March 30, 1900 the Maple Hill News Items reported: “The new road north from Pierce Avenue to the Kansas River is completed and although dirt, is a wonderful asset!! I don’t know when use of this road was discontinued. I do know that the “remains” of the road were still visible when I was a child. It went straight north from the end of Pierce Avenue to the Kansas River. I do know that the William and Abigale (Nutter) Whittington and Richard Crawshaw families lived on this road, which is now closed and a part of the Adams Ranch.

On June 18, 1943, the Maple Hill News Items reported that “the Bridge across Mill Creek at Romick’s was destroyed by the terrible flood that visited the Mill Creek Valley. We are all greatly in convenienced now.” There was a terrible flood of biblical porportions that struck the Mill Creek Valley in 1903. There’s no mention in Maple Hill News Items of the 1878 bridge being destroyed but it is certainly a possibility.

In 1878, a bridge was completed across the Kansas River near the Wilmott Ferry crossing, at a cost of nearly $32,000. Maple Hill Township paid half that cost and St. Marys and Rossville paid the other half. The great tragedy was that the bridge was totally destroyed the following year by ice jams on the Kansas River. It was several years before it was replaced and the Wilmott Ferry was again put into use.

The next time we cross one of today’s beautiful bridges, we should pause and give thanks and think about what our pioneer ancestors had to endure.

Photos: The Romick Bridge across Mill Creek in 1909. This may be the 1878 bridge if it wasn’t destroyed by the 1903 flood.
A view of Mill Creek in 1910, taken from the Romick Mill Creek Bridge looking west towards Buffalo Mound.
A photo of the Main Street of Maple Hill, Kansas taken in 1909 and showing mud, ruts and nearly impassable conditions
A photo of the Pierce/Hamilton Falls on Mill Creek. These falls were about 1/2 mile west of the Romick Bridge across Mill Creek.