The Half Moon Bridge Collapse: A Family's Carriage Plunges into the Willapa River
A routine crossing turned to disaster when the Half Moon bridge near Lebam gave way, injuring six people and killing a horse.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
LEBAM, Aug. 13. — [Special.] — The Half Moon bridge across the Willapa river, about one mile west of Lebam, collapsed Saturday morning without a moment's warning. Mr. Sebastian Geisy was crossing with his carriage, in which were seated Mrs. Fred Kirsch, Miss Josie Kirsch, Miss Nellie Kirsch, Mrs. Schlatter and Jacob Geisy, and all were injured. The bridge had a 120-foot span and was 30 feet high, and the whole span gave way at once and came down with a terrible crash, literally burying the occupants of the carriage in the planks and heavy timber. One horse was killed and the other one so badly hurt that he will die. The carriage was broken into small pieces. The injured were carried to the residence of William Kingston, and doctors summoned from Willapa. Mrs. Kirsch is suffering from severe internal injuries, and it is feared cannot live. The Kirsches and Geisys are pioneer settlers and have a very wide circle of friends throughout the state. Nellie Kirsch is hurt in the back and hip and may be a cripple for life. She is but 11 years old. Josie Kirsch sustained a fracture of the arm. Mrs. Schlatter is not seriously injured, but as she is more than 60 years old, has suffered a great nervous shock.
“The whole span gave way at once and came down with a terrible crash, literally burying the occupants of the carriage in the planks and heavy timber.”
The Half Moon bridge is long gone, but the story of its collapse reminds us of the fragility of rural infrastructure. In an era before modern safety standards, such disasters were not uncommon.
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