Fortysix lives were lost when the silver bridge collapsed. Silver bridge anniversary plans the point pleasant register. Oct 01, 2012 point pleasants silver bridge, the first eyebar suspension bridge in the united states, was an engineering marvel when it was constructed in 1927 and 1928. Some claimed to have spotted the mothman near the bridge just before it fell into the river.
Written in 1970 by west virginia ufologist gray barker, the silver bridge was the first book ever written on the mysterious mothman creature, and is still one of the best. Rescue and recovery operations started immediately but were hampered by poor weather conditions and freezing rain. For anyone interested in point pleasant, and the events surrounding the collapse of the silver bridge in december of 1967, this is a book youll want to add to your library. Local man recalls deadly collapse of silver bridge 50. For 50 years, the iconic bridge had withstood the elementsand stress from everincreasing traffic. The silver bridge feels like a novel which used the strange events around point pleasant as a jumping off point. The fall of the bridge is examined, including the national bridge inspection standards that were created as a result of its collapse. Bridge collapse resulted in a 6hour detour to get from one side of big sur to the other side, effectively splitting the community in half. The silver bridge did collapse on 15 december 1967, killing 46 people. The silver bridge tragedy occurred one fateful evening on.
In 2018, italys morandi bridge collapsed, tragically killing 43 people. The mothman prophecies 2002 is a major motion picture, loosely based on the 1975 book of the same name by john keel. The other victims of the silver bridge collapse the number given when count the number of victims of the silver bridge disaster is 46. If you do want to read the book, i would recommend watching the movie first. The author places a personal touch on the tragedy, sharing events from his perspective. The additional statistics about the bridge were released by. Local man recalls deadly collapse of silver bridge 50 years. In short, the story of the mothman is nothing more than a few fuzzy reports, mostly likely not even connected to one another, much less not connected to the collapse of a bridge miles and away and a year after the last reported sighting of the mothman. The silver bridge was completed in 1928 and collapsed on december 15, 1967. The mothman prophecies 2002 frequently asked questions imdb. I havent read it yet, but my mom enjoyed the story, although being from mason county, she picked up on quite a few inaccuracies concerning the mason county area and several punctuation mistakes throughout the book, but all in all.
Apr 10, 2015 mothman and the silver bridge collapse theres a new ebook out right now from george dudding, on the subject of the december 1967 collapse of the silver bridge, point pleasant, west virginia, which plays a central role in the mothman controversy. One of the most tedious books ive read in some time. Commemorations in both mason and gallia counties are being planned. Inspections, which had been done by the private owner from 1928 to 1941, were taken over by the state road commission. Mary, west virginia, was decommissioned shortly after, in 1971. Undetected corrosion stress cracks caused an eyebar on the ohio side to fracture.
But unlike this book, the motorman prophecies at least feels like the result of a journalists investigation. The deadliest bridge disaster in us history was caused by a. To be honest i grabbed this off of audible because craig wasson was the narrator. Historical photos of the 1967 collapse of the silver bridge. The parties are unable to ascertain the precise locus of the initial impact of the silver bridge s collapse on one or more or all of plaintiffs decedents in relation to the ohiowest virginia boundary. See more ideas about mothman, bridge and historical photos. Songs of the silver bridge, goldenseal, volume 5, number 4. The cause of the collapse was linked to the bridges innovative design. The silver bridge by gray barker 2012, paperback for sale. See more ideas about mothman, west virginia and ohio river.
Prosecutors considering criminal charges over fiu bridge. On december 15, 1967, the silver bridge collapsed under the weight of rushhour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people. During the year previous to the bridge s collapse, several residents did report seeing large, winged creatures with glowing red eyes in and around the point pleasant area. Just as devastating as the recent wtc terrorists attach affected our lives, on december 15, 1967, thirtyfour years ago, everyone who had a connection with point pleasant and mason county lives were changed. Silver the movie is really well done but the book leaves much to be desired.
There is serious debate about whether the mothman caused the bridge collapse or was merely warning people about it. The silver bridge tragedy by george dudding goodreads. Anytime there is a tragedy we all morn the lost of lives. As a result of the silver bridge disaster, the nbis, national bridge inspection. Residents of west virginia and ohio were proud to drive over it. Paranormal author gray baker wrote a book called the silver bridge in 1970 that linked the bridge collapse and the mothman sightings john keel wrote a book titled the mothman prophecies in 1975, which later became a hollywood movie of the same name. Silver bridge list of those lost in the collapse of the silver bridge pdf the open university has three video courses on the construction and collapse of the silver bridge. This accident changed the nations view of bridges across the. Although the collapse of the silver bridge was a major disaster in the west virginia and ohio areas, it also frightened the entire nation. It is about a man just like the man from mansfield, who saw the bridge go down in his rearview mirror. Aug 01, 2007 sweet jesus lyrics by gary chapman there is a river running through this town it carries the water there isnt any way to slow it down or make it stop i was a baby when the big bridge fell so i dont remember but i have listened to the stories well and so i know they were falling to the surface they were calling to their god and their cry was sweet jesus, please wont you catch us, save us. Silver bridge usa on december 15, 1967, the silver bridge collapsed while it was choked with rush hour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people.
Mothman sightings came to stop after the silver bridge collapse, leading to the theory that the mothman and the bridge disaster were directly related. Mothman and the silver bridge collapse nick redferns world. Pictured is the memorial at 6th street in point pleasant, where the bridge connected with gallia county. Ahead of her, she saw the bridge start to collapse. Located on us highway 35, the bridge spanned the ohio river and linked point pleasant, west virginia, with the towns of kanauga and gallipolis, ohio. The gleaming structure was hailed as an excellent engineering achievement. The silver bridge was built as a twolane toll facility by the general corp.
Myth or real, the legend of mothman is permanently connected to the silver bridge collapse. Jul 31, 2017 other bridges, in the wake of the collapse, were examined and retrofitted with better parts, and silver bridges sister bridge in nearby st. Silver bridge collapse i cant believe its nonfiction. Point pleasant silver bridge collapse documentary video. Keel researched the mothman phenomenon during the months prior to the disaster, and believed supernatural forces were at work in the area of point pleasant. The deadliest bridge disaster in us history was caused by. Silver bridge tragedy west virginia division of culture and history. The mothman prophecies was an okay book, not the greatest but definitely not the worst, although considering i havent read another monsterdoc so in this case not the best.
Just after 5pm on december 15, 1967, charlene wood pulled onto the bridge. Thought it might be pretty interesting since my family was on the silver bridge just hours before it collapsed. Feb 19, 20 silver bridge collapse point pleasant, west virginia failure analysis of mechanical systems duration. He also touches on the lives of each person lost and injured when the bridge fell. The silver bridge collapse recounted journal of performance of.
Paranormal author gray baker wrote a book called the silver bridge in 1970 that linked the bridge collapse and the mothman sightings john keel wrote a book titled the mothman prophecies in 1975, which later became a hollywood movie of the same name the two couples that saw the mothman on november 15 th, 1966 were steve and mary mallette, and roger and linda. Investigation of the wreckage pointed to the cause of the collapse being the failure of a single eyebar in a suspension chain, due to a small defect only 0. Marys bridge, located upstream and similar in design to the silver bridge, was shut down for inspection after the collapse. Aug 24, 2018 the mothman was seen during a period from november 1966 to december 1967, culminating in the collapse of the silver bridge, a disaster that is linked to the mothman through superstition that killed 46 people. Route 35 over the ohio river, connecting point pleasant, west virginia, and gallipolis, ohio on december 15, 1967, the silver bridge collapsed under the weight of rushhour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people. The bridge spanning the ohio river between point pleasant, w. Dec 15, 2017 built in 1928, the silver bridge was designed to carry vehicles like the 2,000pound ford model a between kaunaga, ohio near gallipolis and point pleasant, west virginia. Completing the ohiowest virginia trail by way of the kanawha valley in west virginia, s. The united states bureau of public roads was negligent and careless in its participation in the study and in its evaluation and representations of the capabilities and capacities of the silver bridge in that the bureau of public roads knew or should have known that the bridge was vulnerable to a sudden collapse due to its unique eyebar. The following books and articles on the silver bridge tragedy can be found at the. It is primarily not about the collapse of the silver bridge in point pleasant, west virginia, which took the lives of dozens of people on december 15th, 1967 though it does describe the strange events that preceded the collapse. Do you remember this song about the silver bridge collapse.
Possibly, john keel made up parts of his book as well. Bridge construction this book started by providing a history of the construction of the bridge in 192728 and the fact that it was one of only three bridges ever built that used the eyebar design structure. Point pleasantsilver bridge collapse failure case studies. The cause of the collapse was linked to the bridge s innovative design. The silver bridge collapse was a national wakeup call and inspired a much more aggressive effort to inspect and maintain bridges across the country, said brandye l. Blevins is the daily mail opinion page historical columnist. Gina duran, the mother of alexa duran, who died last year in the fiu bridge collapse, embraces her mother, gloria ruiz, near the site of the tragedy on friday. It was this design that was responsible for the collapse of the silver bridge. Point pleasants silver bridge, the first eyebar suspension bridge in the united states, was an engineering marvel when it was constructed in 1927 and 1928.
Just as devastating as the recent wtc terrorists attach affected our lives, on december 15, 1967, thirtyfour years ago, everyone who had a connection with point. On december 15, 1967, this service came to a dramatic and disastrous end. Mothman sightings and the point pleasant silver bridge. The silver bridge was an eyebarchain suspension bridge built in 1928 and named for the color of its aluminum paint. Photos related to the silver bridge at point pleasant and its collapse on dec. This theory was heightened by the 1975 book the mothman prophecies by john keel. This is fairly obvious given the title of my gr shelf for such books. With more than 40 full cases, including the silver bridge collapse in point pleasant, wv. The silver bridge disaster of 1967 images of america. The bridge was completed in 1969 as a replacement for the collapsed silver bridge, although it is located about 1 mile 1. The book is called beyond the bridge by jack matthews, 1970. Mothman and the silver bridge collapse nick redfern.
That was the number of people on the bridge when it fell into the ohio river on dec. The following books and articles on the silver bridge tragedy can be found at the archives and history library. The silver bridge was a suspension bridge that connected point pleasant, west virginia to gallipoli, ohio. Stories from the collapse of the silver bridge wvgenweb. It was replaced with a 310footlong span steel bridge that opened to traffic on october 2017. Jan 09, 2020 mothman sightings came to stop after the silver bridge collapse, leading to the theory that the mothman and the bridge disaster were directly related. Yet for all the heavy documentation, one colorful theory suggests as the cause of the bridge collapse a bit of west virginia folklore. Investigation of the wreckage pointed to the cause of the collapse being the failure of a single eyebar in a suspension chain, due to. Discover everything scribd has to offer, including books and audiobooks from major publishers. The silver bridge not only allowed direct access between the state capitals of ohio and west virginia but also provide clearance for the cargo ships that passed through the ohio river.
The silver bridge disaster of 1967 images of america bullard, stephan g. Nova why bridges collapse season 46 episode 18 pbs. John keel did go to point pleasant to investigate these reports, which form the basis of his book. The mothman prophecies 2002 is a major motion picture, loosely based. Barker was the first researcher on the scene of both the flatwoods monster and mothman cases. Highway 35 bridge connecting point pleasant, west virginia and kanauga, ohio. After the december 15, 1967 collapse of the silver bridge and the death of 46 people, the incident gave rise to the legend and connected the mothman sightings to the bridge collapse. Eyebars in suspension 5 minutes part 2 the silver bridge disaster. The silver bridge was the book that first connected mothman to the bridge collapse and first wove an aura of tertiary paranormal phenomena around the mothman story. On december 15, 1967, the bridge collapsed while handling heavy traffic and killed 46 people. The silver bridge by gray barker 2012, paperback for.
Based on eyewitness accounts, several theories immediately emerged. It was the first eyebar suspension bridge in the united states, and it received much attention for making engineering history. There have been several books based on the bridge collapse, and one of them has a plot that is eerily similar to our story. On december 15, 1967, the silver bridge collapsed under the weight of rush hour traffic, resulting in the deaths of 46 people. Mothman sightings and the point pleasant silver bridge collapse. Fifty years later, effects of silver bridge disaster still. Silver bridge tragedy still haunts river city residents. Dec 11, 2017 the 1967 collapse of the silver bridge, which connected west virginia to ohio, killed 46 people and led to the creation of a nationwide, standardized bridge inspection program.