Stuckey's Bridge

Stuckey's Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Mississippi Landmark
Looking across the bridge
Nearest city	Meridian, Mississippi
Coordinates	32°15′20″N 88°51′19″W / 32.25556°N 88.85528°WCoordinates: 32°15′20″N 88°51′19″W / 32.25556°N 88.85528°W
Built	1901
Architect	Virginia Bridge and Iron Co.
Architectural style	Stearns through truss
MPS	Historic Bridges of Mississippi TR
NRHP Reference #	88002415
USMS #	075-MER-5804-NR-ML
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	November 16, 1988[1]
Designated USMS	August 4, 1984[2]

Stuckey's Bridge is a bridge spanning the Chunky River just outside Meridian, Mississippi. The bridge was listed as a Mississippi Landmark on August 4, 1984,^[2] and added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 16, 1988.^[1]

History

The bridge was originally built as the main route across the Chunky River southwest of Meridian. Documents in the Lauderdale County Archives reveal the contract to construct a bridge in this location was written in 1847, and estimates place the bridge's construction date around 1850.^[3] A new bridge replaced the old one in 1901,^[4] built by the Virginia Bridge and Iron Company.^[5]

Legends

According to legend, a member of the Dalton Gang named "Stuckey" owned a nearby inn where he would rob and murder his guests and bury his victims bodies on the riverbank. The legend says that after murdering twenty people, Stuckey was finally caught and hanged from the newly constructed bridge located on the site of his murders. Rumours of Stuckey haunting the bridge arose as well as claimed sightings of an old man carrying a lantern along the river's edge, loud splashes that supposedly represent Stuckey's body hitting the water after his noose was cut, and visions of his lifeless corpse hanging from the bridge.^[3][6][7]

References

1. National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "Mississippi Landmarks" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Archives and History. May 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
3. Adam Froehlig (2000). "Abandoned Stuckey's Bridge Road - Mississippi". The Lost Highway. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
4. "Stuckey's Bridge". Retrieved 2009-07-20.
5. "Historic Bridges of the U.S. – Stuckey's Bridge". Retrieved 2009-07-20.
6. Jennifer Jacob (October 28, 2007). "The hanging man at Stuckey's Bridge". The Meridian Star. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
7. Alan Brown (2000). Shadows and cypress. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-57806-271-3. Retrieved 2009-07-20.