Luten Bridge Company and variations such as Luten Engineering Company was the name of a number of different bridge building companies in the United States during the early- to mid-20th century. Each had rights to build concrete
Luten arch
A Luten arch is a patented concrete arch design for bridges, designed by Daniel B. Luten, of Indianapolis. Luten was awarded more than 30 patents for his improvements of the Luten arch design.
The Luten arch improves upon preceding concrete arc ...
bridges, according to the patented designs of
Daniel B. Luten, of Indianapolis.
One that distributed a brochure in 1921 and that was prolific in Tennessee had offices in
York, Pennsylvania
York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...
, in
Clarksburg, West Virginia
Clarksburg is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County, West Virginia, United States, in the north-central region of the state. The population of the city was 16,039 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Clarksburg micro ...
, in
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...
, in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, and in
Palatka, Florida
Palatka () is a city in northeastern Florida and it is the county seat of Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Mi ...
. It built the seven span
Harriman Bridge in Tennessee.
The Luten Bridge Company is documented to have built 71 bridges in Tennessee.
[
The Luten Engineering Company was Daniel Luten's own firm during a certain period.][
Some of these firms also built other bridge designs.
]
Works
Works of the various firms include:
* Arkansas 7/51 Bridge, a Pratt through truss bridge built in 1933, AR 7/51, Arkadelphia, Arkansas
Arkadelphia is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,714. The city is the county seat of Clark County. It is situated at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. Two universities, Henderson ...
(Luten Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed
* Evansville-Dutch Mills Road Bridge, Co. Rd. 464, Dutch Mills, Arkansas
Dutch Mills is an unincorporated community in Dutch Mills Township, Washington County, Arkansas, United States. Dutch Mills is on a small tributary of the Baron Fork of the Illinois River on Arkansas Highway 59, approximately south of U.S. Rou ...
(Luten Bridge Co. of Little Rock), NRHP-listed[
*Flamingo Bridge, Palmer Avenue, ]Winter Park, Florida
Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Winter Park was fo ...
, built 1924. (Luten Bridge Co.)
*Fourche LaFave River Bridge
The Fourche LaFave River Bridge carries Arkansas Highway 7 across the Fourche LaFave River in western Perry County, Arkansas, downstream of the Nimrod Dam. It is a three-span open spandrel concrete arch bridge, with its longest span measuring , an ...
, AR 7 over Fourche LaFave R., Nimrod, Arkansas
Nimrod is an unincorporated community in Perry County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located along Arkansas Highway 60, west-southwest of Perryville.
The Fourche LaFave River Bridge and the Wallace Bridge, which are listed on th ...
(Luten Bridge Company), NRHP-listed[
* Harp Creek Bridge, AR 7, over Harp Creek, ]Jasper, Arkansas
Jasper is a city in Newton County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population is 547. The city is the county seat of Newton County.
Jasper is part of the Harrison Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
According ...
(Luten Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed[
* Highway B-29 Bridge, Cty. Rd. 623 over the Illinois River, ]Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Prairie Grove is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,380 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Northwest Arkansas region, and home to Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.
History
Prairie Grove was the ...
(Luten Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed[
*]Illinois River Bridge at Phillips Ford
The Illinois River Bridge at Phillips Ford is a historic bridge in rural northern Washington County, Arkansas. It is a double-span closed-spandrel concrete arch bridge built in 1928 by the Luten Bridge Company, and it carries County Road 848 ...
, Co. Rd. 848 over the Illinois River
The Illinois River ( mia, Inoka Siipiiwi) is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River and is approximately long. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, it has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins at the confluence of the D ...
, Savoy, Arkansas
Savoy (formerly Ladds Mill) is an unincorporated community in Litteral Township, Washington County, Arkansas, United States. It is located on County Route 845 east of Lake Wedington. The Ozark National Forest is just west of the community. The S ...
(Luten Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed[
* Marr's Creek Bridge, S. Bettis St., ]Pocahontas, Arkansas
Pocahontas is a city in Randolph County, Arkansas, United States, along the Black River. According to the 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city was 6,608. The city is the county seat of Randolph County.
Pocahontas has a number of histo ...
(Luten Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed[
*]Moores Creek Bridge
Moores Creek Bridge is an historic single span reinforced concrete bridge located on North 2nd Street between Avenues B and C in Fort Pierce, Florida. Including run up, it is 46 feet long. It is known locally as the Tickle Tummy Bridge or Tickle ...
, N. 2nd St. between Aves. B and C, Fort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Suns ...
(Luten Bridge Company), NRHP-listed[
*Osceola Avenue Bridge, Winter Park, Florida, now demolished.
* Putnam County Bridge No. 159, Co. Rd. 650 W. over Big Walnut Cr., ]Reelsville, Indiana
Reelsville is an unincorporated community in central Washington Township, Putnam County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It lies along local roads just north of U.S. Route 40, southwest of the city of Greencastle, the county seat of Putnam Count ...
(Luten Engineering Co.), NRHP-listed
*Ouachita River Bridge (Arkadelphia, Arkansas)
The Ouachita River Bridge is a steel Parker through truss bridge carrying Arkansas Highway 7 and Arkansas Highway 51 across the Ouachita River at Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The trusses of the bridge were manufactured in 1933 by the Luten Bridge Compa ...
, built in 1933
* Robinson Road Bridge of Washington County, Arkansas
Washington County is a regional economic, educational, and cultural hub in the Northwest Arkansas region. Created as Arkansas's 17th county on November 30, 1848, Washington County has 13 incorporated municipalities, including Fayetteville, Arka ...
, built in 1926
*Twin Bridges Historic District
The Twin Bridges Historic District, in Washington County, Arkansas, near Morrow, is an area surrounding two closed-spandrel, concrete-deck bridges completed in 1922 by the Luten Bridge Company. These bridges are located on County Route 3412 an ...
, Washington Co. Rd. 3412 across unnamed cr. and Old Washington Co. Rd. 11 across Baron Fork, Morrow, Arkansas
Morrow is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. A post office has been in operation at Morrow since 1883; The community had the name of G. W. Morrow, an early postmaster. it w ...
(Luten Bridge Company), NRHP-listed[
* Walland Bridge, Old Walland Rd. over Little River, ]Walland, Tennessee
Walland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Blount County, Tennessee, in the Southeastern United States. Its population was 259 as of the 2010 census. Walland is the site of a post office and is the place name asso ...
(Luten Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed[
* White River Bridge at Elkins, Co. Rd. 44., ]Elkins, Arkansas
Elkins is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located in the Boston Mountains, deep in the Ozark Mountains. A combination of the former unincorporated communities of Harris and Hood, Elkins was established in 19 ...
(Luten Bridge Co. of Knoxville, TN), NRHP-listed[
* Nowland Avenue Bridge, Intersection of Brookside Parkway S. Drive and N. Rural Street over ]Pogue's Run
Pogue's Run is an urban creek that starts near the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Lennington Drive on the east side of Indianapolis, Indiana, and empties into the White River south of the Kentucky Avenue bridge over that river. At the strea ...
, Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
(Luten Bridge Co.), NRHP-listed[
]
Luten Bridge Co. vs. Rockingham County
One of the firms was based in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
and was party to a famously cited case in the history of American contract law. The firm built Luten arch
A Luten arch is a patented concrete arch design for bridges, designed by Daniel B. Luten, of Indianapolis. Luten was awarded more than 30 patents for his improvements of the Luten arch design.
The Luten arch improves upon preceding concrete arc ...
and other types of bridges. The Tennessee
Luten Bridge Company was a party in the landmark 1929 court case, ''Luten Bridge Co. vs. Rockingham County''. Rockingham County, North Carolina
Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,096. Its county seat is Wentworth. The county is known as "North Carolina's North Star."
Rockingham County is included in ...
commissioned a bridge over the Dan River
The Dan River flows in the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. It rises in Patrick County, Virginia, and crosses the state border into Stokes County, North Carolina. It then flows into Rockingham County. From there it flows back int ...
in January 1924 but canceled it in late February. Luten carried on regardless, and later sued the county for the full cost of construction. On appeal, the court ruled in favor of the county, stating that it was the contractor's responsibility to limit costs after a contract has been canceled. The opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:
* District of Maryla ...
written by judge John J. Parker
John Johnston Parker (November 20, 1885 – March 17, 1958) was an American politician and United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was an unsuccessful nominee for associate justice of the Unite ...
defined the Duty to Mitigate Mitigation in law is the principle that a party who has suffered loss (from a tort or breach of contract) has to take reasonable action to minimize the amount of the loss suffered. As stated by the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal in ''Redpath Ind ...
, essentially establishing that a contractor has a duty to limit costs after its contract has been terminated. The case has been cited in American law school casebook
A casebook is a type of textbook used primarily by students in law schools.Wayne L. Anderson and Marilyn J. Headrick, The Legal Profession: Is it for you?' (Cincinnati: Thomson Executive Press, 1996), 83. Rather than simply laying out the legal do ...
s and law journals.[Barak Richman]
The King of Rockingham County and the Original Bridge to Nowhere
in Contracts Stories (Foundation Press, 2007)Fish, Peter G, ''Crossing Judge Parker's 'Luten Bridge': etc.'' North Carolina Law Review, vol. 84, pp. 1913-1926, publ. 2006
/ref>
References
{{Reflist
Companies based in Knoxville, Tennessee
Construction and civil engineering companies of the United States
Bridge companies