STRONG BRIDGES BETTER NEIGHBORS MAKE

Children playing by the large
oak tree on Ol’ Man Island.

As the burg­eon­ing town of Dixie Land­ings prosp­ered, it became clear that bridges would bring the comm­unity closer together. Although the Sassagoula was often as slow as it was low, there were times when its current ran crafty and strong, and rowing the river was a handful for even the heartiest fieldhands to handle.

Colonel J.C., Buford Honeyworth and a number of other well-to-do residents provided the funds, the know-how, the materials and the manpower needed to establish a system of bridges over the years that would keep each part of their town in touch with every other.

The Dixie Landings Bridge built in 1883.

In 1883 a small ceremony dedicated the first — the Dixie Landings Bridge — which spanned the river between the docks’ area and Ol’ Man Island. Two years later, the crossing known as the Alligator Bayou Bridge was opened to foot traffic, followed in the same year by the Acadian Bridge and four years later by the Oak Manor Bridge. The effect of these structures, besides making travel between their respective points less troublesome, was that children now had ready and safe access to the island and the legacy of good clean fun left to them by Everette Peace.

By the year 1889, all of Dixie Landings’ bridges were complete — which provided ready access to all areas throughout the Dixie Landings Community.


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