Community of Lansing dedicates first of six history podiums in anticipation of Lansing's 150th birthday

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

Tuesday, November 22, the first of six podiums that will be placed throughout the Historic Downtown District in the Lansing community to educate visitors and citizens about Lansing’s vital history was unveiled and dedicated. The all-weather podiums are being created and put in place in anticipation of Lansing celebrating the 150th anniversary next year of its incorporation as a city in the state of Iowa.

This first podium features the Black Hawk Bridge, which  commemorates its 85th birthday this year, and the podium location at the corner of Main Street and North Front Street near the Lansing Fire Station looks out toward the bridge that has played an important role in Lansing’s economic history and continues to make Lansing a destination with its unique beauty. The Lansing History Committee felt it was very fitting that the first podium is about this landmark.

Many community members were in attendance at the ceremony, as were students from the sixth grade class of Kee Middle School, who study Lansing history as part of their classroom curriculum. Craig White, Executive Director of Main Street Lansing, opened the November 22 dedication ceremony with the following remarks:

“We would like to thank several people. First, the family of Willard and Arlene - represented today by Gary Kerndt. Gary, along with his brothers and sisters - Roger, Lee, Cheryl, Sheila and Sandy - came together and made this project possible by a very generous contribution that allowed Main Street Lansing to apply for a grant to fund the overall cost of the project. Main Street Lansing says 'thank you' to the family of Willard and Alene Kerndt.

"Next, the Allamakee County Community Foundation recognized that this was a worthwhile endeavor and granted funds to Main Street Lansing to complete the project.  Main Street Lansing says 'thank you' to the Allamakee County Community Foundation for their confidence in the project. Last, but certainly not least, we thank the members of the History Committee who worked long hours to create this podium - Joann Kehr, Shirley Darling, Karen Galema, Susan Cantine-Maxson and John Rethwisch. We dedicate this podium and the rest of the podiums to Lansing’s past as the center of a vibrant river economy and to Lansing’s future as the center of the Driftless Area’s education and recreational opportunities.”

The newly-dedicated bridge podium contains many statistics about the bridge, the building information as well as pictures of the construction and dedication. That information reads as follow:
• History: Built 1931; closed 1945-1957 due to structural damage, rededicated 1957
• Builders: Industrial Engineering Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota; McClintic-Marshall Co. of Chicago, Illinois & Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Melvin B. Stone of Minneapolis, Minnesota (Engineer)
• Cost: $750,000 in 1931   (approximately $11,018,000 in 2016 currency value)
• Dimensions: Length of largest span: 652.3 ft.; Total length: 1,630.7 ft.; Deck width: 21.0 ft.; Vertical clearance above deck: 15.0 ft. (https://bridgehunter.com)

DEDICATION INSCRIPTION BLACK HAWK BRIDGE
Dedication Inscription of Black Hawk Bridge
To the Memory of Black Hawk
Chief of the Sacs and Foxes
To His Courage, Loyalty and
Devotion For His People
This Tablet is Inscribed
 
TEXT FOR THE BRIDGE PODIUM
“A reality! Finished!” The Book of the Black Hawk Bridge enthused at the structure’s dedication in 1931.

SIGNIFICANCE
Although the Black Hawk Bridge does not serve any primary routes, it provides a regionally important vehicular crossing of the Mississippi River midway between La Crosse, Wisconsin and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The bridge is named after Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk American Indian tribe.

According to the prospectus to obtain financing, the bridge was designed to accommodate 2,300 vehicles per hour with a maximum vehicle load of 30 tons. The Book of the Black Hawk Bridge, a promotional document produced for the dedi­cation ceremony in 1931, indicates that the entire bridge proj­ect was from Second Street, Lansing to the Burlington rail­road tracks at the foot of the Winneshiek Slough with several smaller bridges over the Henderson, Stevens, Indian and Big sloughs. The road bed between the main span and the Wis­consin bluffs was paved with crushed stone. There were no approach spans on the Iowa side of the river. There was a toll booth at the Iowa end of the bridge, located immediately adja­cent to the southwest end.

“The Black Hawk Bridge, three quarters of a million dollars of steel and concrete, linking the states of Iowa and Wisconsin, running eastward from Lansing across the Winneshiek Bot­toms to De Soto, is a reality. It is the first passenger bridge to join these two states, the result of more than a generation of dreaming and scheming, planning and promoting - and two years of actual construction.” (The Book of the Black Hawk Bridge)

Planning for the bridge had begun in 1898 by Lansing business­men J.P. Conway and Tom Bakeman. The two promoted the proposed structure for years as a boon to the community, eventually forming the Interstate Bridge Company in 1914 to secure a Congressional charter for the bridge. The charter, secured in 1916, was turned over to the Iowa-Wisconsin Bridge Company in late 1929. Under the direction of Des Moines financier John Thompson, the latter firm sold bridge bonds to finance construc­tion, hired Minneapolis engineer Melvin B. Stone to design the bridge, and contracted with the McClintic-Marshall Company of Chicago to fabricate and erect the trusses.

The bridge was dedicated on June 17, 1931, with the governors of Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota present. The bridge func­tioned as a toll structure until river ice damaged some of the ap­proach spans over the Wisconsin bottoms in 1945. It stood un­used for several years until the approaches were re-constructed and the bridge re-dedicated in May 1957.

The Black Hawk Bridge now carries traffic as a free bridge, in essentially unaltered condition. The importance of the Black Hawk Bridge to commerce and transportation in northeastern Iowa can hardly be understated. The only highway bridge over the Mississippi River in the region at the time of its comple­tion, the Black Hawk Bridge is historically significant for its role in the development of northeast Iowa. Although its design and dimensions fit within the mainstream of bridge technology of the time, the structure is technologically significant as an un­common, large-scale example of cantilevered truss design. Few such cantilevered trusses were erected in Iowa, those primarily over the Mississippi or Missouri Rivers, and even fewer remain in use today. This Bridge was one of five such long-span, canti­levered trusses in Iowa in 1967.

In addition to the bridge information, the podium also presents the following historical background on the first cabin locations in Lansing, ice houses, warehouses and the boat store, in addition to an account of the burning of a the steamship, the JS, in 1910:

First Cabin Locations
The podium contains a picture of the cabin built in 1848 by John Haney, Sr. on what is now #121 N. Front Street.

“Upon the opening of these lands, a man named John Haney Sr., accompanied by his son, James, arrived at the site of what was to become the town of Lansing. The Haneys located a claim on the river bank and built a cabin about 900 feet north of a cabin oc­cupied by a man named Garrison, who was living there when the Haneys arrived in April. Garrison’s cabin was located on the present site of the M.W. Long residence on Front Street. Haney’s cabin was located on the south portion of the wooded Hem­mingway property. Both Haney’s and Garrison’s cabins were noted by Guy Carleton when he surveyed Lansing Township in the spring of 1849.” (From the Lansing, Iowa, On The Mississippi 100 Year Souvenir Book) This is the site of the current Blue Heron Bed and Bath.

Warehouses, Ice Houses & Boat Stores
The first frame building was a store erected by F.D. Cowles in August, 1851 on the corner of Front and Main Streets , north of Main. Likewise, Mr. Cowles was Lansing’s first merchant. The first frame house was the “Lansing House”, on Front St. north of Main, and occupied as a hotel. This building still stands as a residence. The first drug­store was kept by I. B. Place in 1852, on Front St. near the Lansing House. The photo above (as seen on the podium) shows the public landing, warehouses, boat stores, ice houses and elevators that grew up along the river in the late 1800’s.

Steamship JS Burns
“Let the reader imagine, if he can, the spectacle of a magnificent steamer plowing along through the water at a good rate of speed, with nearly eleven hundred happy souls on board. On the fine dancing floor running the full length of the boat hundreds of persons are enjoying the dance, while hundreds more are looking on, the sweet strains of waltz music floating our over the quiet waters. The steamer’s lights are flash­ing in the darkness, and now and then the great searchlight is turned along the banks far ahead of the steamer to better assist the silent and lonely man at the wheel in guiding the boat safely along with its pre­cious load. Suddenly there was heard that startling cry of “fire! fire!” and all is excitement and confusion.” (Allamakee Journal, 7.1.1910)

On June 25, 1910, more than 1200 residents of Lansing and the surrounding area were on an excursion aboard the Steamship JS, one of the first and largest steamships offering transportation from St. Louis to St. Paul. Built in 1901, the steamship was a luxurious way to travel to La Crosse. The Lansing Cadet Band sponsored this par­ticular outing and were playing in the ballroom when the shouts of “Fire” broke out, close to Victory, WI. Even though the boat was within 200 feet of an island and had a gangplank down within two minutes, many panicked, fearing that the boilers would explode, and approximately one third of the passengers jumped from the upper lev­els. At least a score of babies were dropped overboard to waiting hands. Everyone was evacuated on to Bad Axe Island and surrounding islands and sandbars within 12 minutes but approximately 50 people were injured from jumping into the water. Two people died in the fire: one was in the brig and the other jumped from the deck. The boat burned to the waterline and sank. The captain and crew, along with smaller craft boaters which assisted with the ferrying of passengers to shore, were credited with quick thinking and keeping a majority of the passengers safe from disaster.

The History Committee will continue to work on the remaining five  podiums in the dedication series and hopes to have them all in place to commemorate the 150th birthday of Lansing in 2017.