FORT SMITH, Ark. — The 100th anniversary of the Garrison Avenue Bridge was celebrated on Saturday, May 13, 2022.
The Garrison Avenue Bridge first opened in 1922, nicknamed the Million Dollar Free Bridge. The bridge cost $1 million dollars, paid by Arkansas and Oklahoma, and gave the city of Fort Smith free passage to Oklahoma.
“Almost anybody that's grown up and lived in Fort Smith or any amount of time would know what the Garrison Ave bridge was if you mentioned it it's just a big part of our city,” said Al Whitson, member of the Fort Smith Historical Society.
“At one time it was traveling over into the new Oklahoma, which very short time before that had been Indian territory, and today, we just think of it as a standard passage to head towards that direction to head West out of Fort Smith”
According to historians, residents would take a railway bridge to travel from Fort Smith to Oklahoma. The only issue was the toll charged to take the passage.
The event took place at the Old Frisco Railroad Depot located at 100 Garrison Avenue. Historians, reenactors, and antique auto enthusiasts gathered for the event, parading across the bridge.
“Sometimes we don't realize actually what we have in history until we look back at it or we don't have it anymore,” said Albertson. “Some years ago we had a problem in Fort Smith with the tornado we had to drive to Van Buren just to get to Fort Smith downtown.”
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