Where the heck is Garrison Bridge?

If someone asked you to meet at Garrison Bridge in Warrensburg, would you immediately know where to go?

According to the Standard Herald on December 7th 1951 the new bridge on College Street ( prior to that known as Miller Street) earned the official name “The Harry R. Garrison Bridge” during a city council meeting that stretched nearly 3 hours. It became official at the following regular session meeting, December 18, 1951,to forever be known as such. Garrison was given this honor in consideration of his planning for the concrete bridge along with his many services to the county as one of the longest serving mayors.
While the agenda was packed with traffic lights at Clark Avenue, Christmas bonuses for city employees and a trial run making East Pine Street one way, the bridge naming still stood out as the highlight of the night.
Councilman Lance Siegel introduced the motion to name the structure in honor of Mayor Harry R. Garrison, who was in office as the bridge was being built.
The council voted unanimously to adopt it.
The firm of Harrington and Cortalyou of Kansas City were the engineers hired to draw plans for the bridge.
T.A. King ( son of Warrensburg residents Mr. And Mrs. A.T. King)from Columbus, Kansas was contracted to build the bridge, and all labor was done by local workmen with Clem Clark as the foreman.
The sides of the bridge were first laid in concrete that were considered an obstruction by many drivers, and later in 1956 were replaced by iron side rails.

Backstory of the 1st bridge crossing to the Normal School on Miller Street.

Why Some Folks Call It Whiskey Bridge

In 1883, access to the Old Normal College now the University of Central Missouri, was far from convenient. One of the primary routes to campus was a narrow, five-foot-wide wooden footbridge arching over the railroad tracks on Miller Street (now College Street). Constructed shortly after the Normal School opened, it served students and residents living north of the tracks, then the primary residential area of Warrensburg.

A more substantial crossing existed on Maguire Street, built by the railroad as required by law where tracks intersected a public road. However, by the early 1880s, Warrensburg’s growing population and the increasing prominence of the Normal School made the need for an additional, sturdier bridge both clear and urgent.

At the same time, the city faced a significant financial challenge. Warrensburg’s treasury was depleted, strained by the ongoing effort to maintain low tax rates. Complicating matters further, residents had passed a strict anti-liquor ordinance, outlawing the sale of alcoholic beverages within city limits. Predictably, the ban led to the rise of illicit drinking establishments, popularly known as Blind Tigers

These clandestine operations were typically accessed through the alley behind Pine Street an area that earned the nickname “Kentucky Avenue.”

County officials made little effort to enforce the prohibition laws, and the establishments continued to operate openly, creating an apparent connection between political interests and the lack of enforcement. Other Missouri towns where liquor sales were regulated and taxed benefited financially from such activity; Warrensburg, however, received nothing.

Amid growing public demand for a proper bridge and the absence of municipal funds, Mayor Henry F. Clark adopted a practical if unconventional approach. Though not a supporter of prohibition, Clark recognized that the illegal liquor trade was profitable and largely tolerated by state authorities. He also saw an opportunity to redirect some of that revenue toward a public good.

In direct conversations with the operators of the “Blind Tigers,” Mayor Clark informed them that beginning the first of each month, the town marshal would collect a fixed fine, the amount based on liquor license fees in comparable Missouri towns. Failure to comply, he warned, would result in local enforcement action, regardless of any understanding they might have had with county officials.

Whether his threat was entirely enforceable is uncertain, but it proved effective. The monthly fines generated a steady stream of revenue, gradually replenishing the city treasury. In time, the accumulated funds were sufficient to construct the much-needed bridge.

What began as an improvised solution to a municipal funding crisis ultimately provided Warrensburg with critical infrastructure. Through decisive leadership and a pragmatic strategy, Mayor Clark transformed an illicit local practice into a resource that served the broader community.