Mebane's Bridge
The crossing was conceived by industrialist Benjamin Franklin Mebane Jr., who wanted the bridge to be built to connect the nearby towns of Spray and Draper to a tract of land he owned on the far side of the river where he sought to build a chemical plant.
The cost of the bridge, its location in a remote area, and the nature of Mebane's influence on the commission created an intense political controversy in the county.
With the road intended to link up the project incomplete, the bridge sat isolated over the Dan River for about a decade after its completion, occasionally being used by pedestrians.
Benjamin Franklin Mebane Jr. was an industrialist who built several textile mills in northern Rockingham County, North Carolina in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Wanting a more direct route to his plant from the nearby towns, Mebane decided that a new bridge should be constructed near the confluence of Fishing Creek and the Dan River.
In 1922, he sought out three men to support his proposal: Josiah Ferre McCollum, Thomas Ruffin Pratt, and William Franklin Pruitt.
[4] Undaunted, Mebane's commissioners, having a majority on the board, voted on March 19, 1923 that a bridge near the confluence of Fishing Creek and the Dan River was a "public necessity".
A group of lawyers filed for an injunction in North Carolina’s 11th District Court to prevent the commission from signing a contract to build the bridge.
[8] The injunction was denied on appeal, and the bridge opponents instead formed a "Citizens Committee" and organized three mass meetings at the Rockingham County Courthouse to protest the project.
[9] Speakers at the sessions denounced the bridge plan as a waste of money and as a sign that special interests were in control of the county commission.
[13] Completed by November 3, 1924,[6] the structure was a single lane road[14] Luten bridge[15] comprising three white arches, each 105 feet long.
Mebane's commissioners nevertheless ceased to attend any official meetings, while Martin, Barber, and Hampton met on their own accord and asserted themselves as the county's proper government.
The Tri-City Daily Gazette speculated "that attorneys for the bridge company were looking into the legal status of the matter and found that the only safe thing to do, was to fulfill their contract signed by themselves and the commissioners.
"[19] Mebane, determined to have the crossing completed, arranged for his Spray Water Power and Land Company to give the bridge firm $25,000 in liberty bonds to help cover their expenses.
Per the agreement's terms, the county engineer continued to report to the commission every month with his estimate of what Luten Bridge Company was owed, and the commissioners would reject the invoice.
[28] On June 2, Judge Edwin Y. Webb ruled that the motion of the original pro-bridge commissioners was a valid official act of the board and thus represented the county's position, meaning it acceded to the Luten Bridge Company's claims.
[33] The lower court jury trial ordered by Parker was held in 1932, and the company was awarded $9,280, taking in to account profit lost due to the termination of the contract.
[13] In 1935 the North Carolina Department of Transportation built dirt routes to the bridge, connecting it to other roads, but vehicular traffic was minimal.
