Memories of the Meridian Most Yankton citizens can remember those days in the summer of their youth where they went for ice cream and their parents took them for a drive around the lake. Yankton visitors know the landmark either by crossing over it to enter Yankton, or passing below while enjoying the river it crosses. Those memories would be quite different without the Meridian Bridge. For more than 80 years the double-decker bridge has carried motorists over the unyielding waters of the Missouri River. The historic bridge is a staple in Yankton’s history and in the minds of most who think of Yankton, with its two rising towers and old-fashioned style in an age when most old bridges are being disused and destroyed. Luckily for Yankton, the bridge has found a way to stay a notable piece of Yankton by becoming a pedestrian bridge. The Missouri River has always been an unpredictable piece of Yankton’s history, from Yankton’s founding in 1861 well into the early 20th century. It dictated how and when people could travel between South Dakota and Nebraska. Before the bridge was built, transportation was either a ferry service, which was installed in 1870; a rickety pontoon bridge during the summer months, which was installed in 1890; or motorists crawled across the ice during the winter months. This worked, though troublesome for merchants who could become stuck on one side, until automobiles and trucks became staples of travel and commerce during the growth of the early 20th century. In 1915 Yankton hired a private bridge company and gained federal approval to build a bridge across the unpredictable Missouri River. The plan was delayed during World War I but was revived in 1919 by local seed merchant D.B. Gurney. The bridge would be the last major link in an international highway that runs from Winnipeg, Canada, to Mexico City, Mexico, otherwise known as the “Meridian Highway.” The bridge, once completed, was named for this route but also for the bridge company who built it; Meridian Highway Bridge Company. Finally in 1924 the Meridian Bridge came into service amid a weeklong celebration. The $1.1million bridge was financed mostly with local funding and years of fundraising by local citizens during a time when it was more common for bridges to be built with some form of federal or state aide. Yankton held the nickname “Bridge City” for many years because of this. And amid another celebration on December 1, 1952, the wife of the D.B. Gurney paid the last toll and the bridge became debt free. “Toll Free in ‘53” was a major slogan after the city had spent 29 years collecting tolls to pay off the debt. vMeridian Bridge continued on page 29v Yankton, South Dakota – 25