THE NORWAY BRIDGE

Getting a bridge for Norway was the crowing achievement for the community up to this time, 1887.  Captain Walker wrote the Republic County Bridge Law and Representative Glasco pressed it through the legislature.  Then began a series of petitions signed by every voter in the township.  Many trips to Belleville, about a hundred bridge meeting in the township, and more trips to Belleville.  Good counsil and help from Mr. Van Natta and Mr. Studley, County Clerk, then almost despair.  A few weeks later reading in the official paper of the county , the call for bids for building the Norway Bridge in 1886.  Happiness over the bridge and all hard feelings long since forgotten.

Today we cannot realized what not having a bridge means.  A man put his family in his wagon box, drove his team into the river, crossed to the other side, his wagon box floating on the water.  There were two fords, the Rodger's ford 300 yards north of the present bridge and the Meade ford, a mile and a quarter south of the bridge.  They tell that Mr. Stanton, who lived on his homestead where the Hungry Hollow School house was located, could and did swim across the river, when it was too high to use the ford.  He carried a fifty pound sack of flour on his shoulders.  This is true.

The cost of the bridge was $13,000.00.  The Republic County Commissioners, at that time were Mr. Wells, Mr. Kyle, and Mr. Smith.  The bridge was built by the King Iron Bridge Company of Toledo, Ohio.  The Engineer was O. L. Dunn.  Work was begun in 1886 and completed in 1887.  According to our earliest settlers, this township owes everlasting gratitude to Captain William Walker.

At first we had wagon bridges and railroad bridges.  The Norway bridge is the only "wagon" bridge between the State Line and Clay Center still in use. 

In 1880 Norway Township was divided into two precincts, east Norway proper east of the river, and west Norway, west of the river.  This continued until the bridge was built in 1887.