This Month in Rockingham County History: February - 'The Luten Bridge Case'

February 1924

Introduction by Dr. Debbie Russell:
One of the most noted court cases in the county’s history had its roots in February 1924, when the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners decided to cancel a contract to build a bridge across the Dan River. They had just approved the contract with the Luten Bridge Company of Tennessee on a vote of 3-2 a month earlier at their regular meeting in the 1907 Courthouse (now the location of the MARC). In the intervening weeks, a very vocal opposition movement and a new member appointed to the Board of Commissioners resulted in a vote to rescind the contract.
 
Despite the cancellation of the contract, the company went ahead and completed the bridge anyway, and then sued the county to recover their costs. Spanning the river at Fishing Creek in the Leaksville area, this made the third bridge across the river within a distance of less than two miles.
 
The scenario had started months before, involved some of the most prominent citizens in the area, and for a time seriously divided Rockingham County into those for and opposed to building the bridge. The controversy included accusations of manipulation by influential leaders, two thousand protesters at one meeting, resignations, new appointees, scores of newspaper articles for and against the bridge, and ultimately court filings that went back and forth for more than a decade.
 
In fact, in the legal world, the Rockingham County v. Luten Bridge case has become a staple of contract courses and is now studied in virtually every law school in America. Other legal analysts have also noted its importance in local government law, in addressing the legitimacy of elected and appointed boards and their role in economic development. 
 
The story behind this fascinating case and what was called both “the bridge to nowhere” and “the most beautiful bridge in the South” is covered in local historian Bob Carter’s article from the Journal of Rockingham County History and Genealogy (June 2004) found below. Keep reading to find out the history of one of Rockingham County’s most important court cases. 

(Luten Bridge: October 2019: courtesy of Gordon Allen)

(Luten Bridge: October 2019: courtesy of Gordon Allen)

A Bridge To Nowhere - by Bob Carter (County Historian)

(read using the slides below or by downloading the PDF)

the-bridge-to-nowhere-bob-carter.pdf
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References:
In addition to those cited in Bob Carter’s Journal article, the following sources might also be of interest to readers:
Articles from The Tri-City Daily Gazette (Leaksville, NC): “Mass Meeting Is Called Monday, February 4,” January 17, 1924, 1, reprinted from The Reidsville Review; “Democratic County Chairman Condemns Mass Meeting and Upholds Orderly Government,” January 30, 1924, 1; “Madison Man Pleads To Put Down Strife,” January 31, 1924, 1; “3 County Commissioners Bring Suit,” February 2, 1924, 1; “Mass Meeting Did Not Accomplish Its Purpose Yesterday,” February 5, 1924, 1; and a series of commentaries from the Gazette editor, Murdoch E Murray, entitled “A Tale of a Bridge” from February 8- March 8, 1924, in which he generally supports B. Frank Mebane and the building of the bridge. See also Rockingham County v. Luten Bridge Co., 35 F.2d 301 (4th Cir. 1929), Justia, US Law, https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/35/301/1488369/; Barak Richman, Jordi Weinstock & Jason Mehta, “A Bridge, a Tax Revolt, and the Struggle to Industrialize: The Story and Legacy of Rockingham County v. Luten Bridge Co.,” 84 N.C. Law Review, 1841 (2006), https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/nclr/vol84/iss6/2; Donnie B. Stowe, “Mr. Mebane’s Bridge and the Railroad That Never Was,” Rockingham County Legacy: A Digital Heritage Project, Original in Linda C. Vernon Genealogy Room, Rockingham County Public Library, Madison, NC, Digital NC, https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/101073#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&r=0&xywh=299%2C438%2C1936%2C1176; Brenda Marks Eagles, Benjamin Franklin Mebane, Jr., NCpedia, State Library of North Carolina, https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/mebane-benjamin-frankli-0; and Helen Lounsbury, “The Bridges of Rockingham County: Quite a Tale Could Be Written about Local River Spans,” January 6, 1994, News & Record (Greensboro, NC), https://greensboro.com/the-bridges-of-rockingham-county-quite-a-tale-could-be-written-about-local-river-spans/article_61085f9a-38fc-5d14-acef-f4b9debe6e50.html