Building, and rebuilding bridges: Crossing the Fox River was no easy task for early residents
Those bridges we cross regularly in the Tri-Cities area? It took a lot of grit from determined settlers to get them right and change the face of business and everyday life in central Kane County.
We take bridges for granted when stuck in downtown traffic while crossing the Fox River, but these structures were not easy to build and were a source of much stress, concern and brainpower.
We have modern bridges now, and we even added one along Fabyan Parkway in 1967 and one along Red Gate Road in 2012. St. Charles added what was called a “bridge to nowhere” by detractors in 1994 when opening the Prairie Street bridge to give the city its third span across the Fox.
To this day, Batavians likely wish there was another bridge option to alleviate traffic along the Wilson Street bridge.
Putting that aside for the moment, let’s pay tribute to those who had to deal with the original tasks in the mid-1800s of how to get across the Fox River without ferrying via canoes or rafts, or simply wading through the mud when the river was low.
In St. Charles, near the end of 1836, early settlers built the first Main Street bridge. It was a strong wooden bridge about 18 feet wide and 8 feet above the Fox River water level. It was a solid addition to the community, allowing villagers to access businesses or properties on either side of the river.
Unfortunately, an ice flood crushed the bridge in 1849 and carried it down the river, according to historian Ruth Seen Pearson in her 1976 book Reflections of St. Charles.
St. Charles residents were persistent about having a bridge. They had to be. The Main Street bridge was destroyed and rebuilt three times before 1857.
Nothing got more attention in the region than when a bridge collapsed, and St. Charles had that unfortunate occurrence when the wooden Main Street bridge collapsed on July 1, 1902. The bridge crumbled under the weight of a streetcar crossing it.
As noted by St. Charles History Museum researcher Eric Krupa, published reports indicated there were no deaths, injuries or even much damage to the streetcar because the bridge collapsed slowly, as opposed to a crushing drop of several feet.
Krupa cited a July 4, 1902 front-page story in the St. Charles Chronicle about the incident, noting the bridge had been deemed unsafe a year earlier. The newspaper leveled a seething report against the mayor and city council for its inaction.
The bridge as we know it today was established with new paving in 1915. That bridge had been built in 1910, partly to allow trolley car activity, but the pavement was preparing for the age of automobiles.
Around the same time, Geneva was busy with its own bridge project to replace wooden structures along State Street. Its original span was built in 1909, and its major reconstruction work began decades later, in 1992.
Though not splitting the downtown in half like those in St. Charles and Batavia, a bridge in Geneva was vital for its mills operating along the Fox River. Bennett Mill, in particular, was a major employer and producer of flour that relied on distribution beyond the Fox Valley region and even into other countries.
Most of the industry in the region focused on agriculture, and companies near the river, like Geneva Rock Springs Creamery, surely enjoyed the easier way to move products over the river. The remnants of the Creamery building became part of today’s Herrington Inn.
In Batavia, after years of bridges made of wood or stone and even structures that lasted for years, the city opened a new Wilson Street bridge for public use on Dec. 13, 1911.
While the street atop the bridge has been upgraded many times since, especially in 2007 when it became the William J. Donovan Bridge, the structure itself has stood the test of time.
Batavians had to deal with plenty of “redo’s” on the bridge, as the first one constructed in 1837 was destroyed that same year by flooding, and a new one built in 1843 was wiped out by a flood in 1849, the same weather event that sent the St. Charles bridge down the river.
To walk or not to walk
During a recent chat with Colonial Cafe owner Tom Anderson and his wife Cris, they mentioned their support for a sidewalk/bike trail west of the westside St. Charles Post Office.
Their feeling is that every neighborhood needs a walking or biking connection to the post office, the Aldi grocery store, Buona Beef and other businesses in the area of Main Street west of Randall Road. The proposed route would also connect to current sidewalks east of the post office.
Supporters point to a pedestrian/bike plan from November of 2023 that proposed the future sidewalk.
An e-mail thread listed why people felt the city had not pursued this idea. Among them were that Route 64 (Main Street) is a state highway, nearby Campton Hills Road is not a St. Charles road, there is no public right-of-way to build a path, the topography is not flat, and it’s too expensive.
Considering those factors, it is also difficult to envision people using a sidewalk west of the St. Charles Post Office often.
Though not quite the same, we live in the Eagle Brook subdivision in Geneva and often use the sidewalk along Randall Road for dog walks. But we rarely see anyone else on it.
It was built so people in the neighborhood could walk or bike to the various stores and restaurants along that stretch of Randall, and it could connect with sidewalks in the subdivision. There is a Pace bus stop along that stretch, from Fargo Boulevard south to Fabyan Parkway, but we’ve never seen many people walking toward that either.
Regardless, I hope those in that particular area of St. Charles get what they need at some point — but they would actually use it.
A trail and more
Regarding enhancements for bikers or walkers, St. Charles residents should push hard to see the Fox River Corridor Foundation’s Eastbank Enhancement Project become a reality.
The project targets Illinois Street south to the Piano Factory bridge along Riverside Drive. It calls for rebuilding the riverfront with limestone blocks to replace old and unattractive concrete slabs and widening the bike/walking path with more distance between it and Riverside Drive.
A new plaza at the intersection of the trail and Illinois Street would accommodate bikers, walkers and those with baby strollers. In effect, it would keep them from bunching up near the roadways.
As much as River Corridor planners would have liked to see the trail split for bikers and walkers into a dual-trail concept, they realized that calling for narrowing Riverside Drive is more suited for city planners. Thus, the foundation is not including it in the plan.
However, foundation members continue to envision connecting trails in the future so those heading north can safely cross Main Street to get to Pottawatomie Park and other trails.
Stockholm’s back in business
It was welcome news last week when the popular Stockholm's restaurant in Geneva reopened after a monthslong fire-related shutdown.
As happy as we are to see owner Michael Olesen and the Stockholm’s crew back in the downtown Geneva restaurant lineup, the best part of this story is how other Geneva restaurant owners and residents supported the Stockholm staff after the unexpected closing.
It makes small towns click, and no matter how much this area continues to grow, the spirit of a small town is not likely to change.
Cocoa creations are back
Chocolate lovers would be happy to hear this. The Geneva Chamber of Commerce is bringing back its Cocoa and Chocolate Crawl event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, throughout Geneva and starting at 10 a.m. for the stores participating in the Geneva Commons.
By any measure, that’s a lot of cocoa and chocolate, but those among us who enter another stratosphere when consuming excellent chocolate drinks would tell you there’s never quite enough.
Residents, both adults and children, wanting to give some cocoa creations a try at this open-house event can get tickets for $24 at the Geneva Chamber office, 8 S. Third St., from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1; and from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Apricot Lane store for those wanting to start in the Geneva Commons. Tickets are also available from 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 2, in the Geneva Visitor Center, 10 S. Third St. A map of participating businesses is also available at these ticket locations.
Tia Carmen shaping up
The owners of La Hacienda and Salsa Verde restaurants in the Tri-Cities area were quite excited about the chance to talk to me about their new restaurant in the former Sergio’s Cantina location at 30 W. State St. in Geneva.
The only problem was, we haven’t been able to connect since that first voicemail exchange a couple of months ago.
Still, the information is out there, and a new coat of paint is on the building in what will become the Tia Carmen restaurant, the newest entry offering homemade Mexican food.
For starters, the building’s new paint job is an improvement, helping the restaurant stand out a little better than either Sergio’s, or Potter’s before it.
dheun@sbcglobal.net