The Red River Bridge War was a boundary conflict between the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s of Oklahoma and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

over an existing

toll bridge A toll bridge is a bridge where a monetary charge (or '' toll'') is required to pass over. Generally the private or public owner, builder and maintainer of the bridge uses the toll to recoup their investment, in much the same way as a toll road ...

and a new free bridge crossing the Red River. The Red River Bridge Company, a private firm owned by Benjamin Colbert, had been operating a toll bridge that carried U.S. Route 69 and

U.S. Route 75 U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it once continued as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other side ...

between

Colbert, Oklahoma Colbert is a town in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,140 at the 2010 census, a 7 percent increase over the figure of 1,065 recorded in 2000. It was incorporated in 1939. History Colbert men became prominent leaders amo ...

, and Denison, Texas. In 1931, Texas and Oklahoma jointly built a new, free span northwest of the existing toll bridge. On July 10, 1931, the Red River Bridge Company obtained an injunction against the Texas Highway Commission (now

Texas Department of Transportation The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...

), keeping it from opening the new bridge. The company said that the highway commission had promised in July 1930 to buy the old toll bridge for $60,000 (equal to $ today). In reaction to the injunction, the Governor of Texas, Ross S. Sterling, ordered that the new free bridge be barricaded at the Texas end. On July 17,

Oklahoma Governor The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The governor is the ''ex officio ...

"Alfalfa Bill" Murray ordered the new bridge open, by executive order. Murray issued this order on the grounds that the land on both sides of the river belonged to Oklahoma, per the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819. Murray sent highway crews across the new bridge to destroy the barricades. Governor Sterling sent Adjutant General William Warren Sterling and three Texas Rangers to the new bridge to defend the Texas Highway Commission workers enforcing the injunction, and rebuilt the barricade that night. The next day, Oklahoma crews under Governor Murray's order demolished the Oklahoma approach to the toll bridge, rendering that bridge impassable. The Texas State Legislature called a special session on July 23 to pass a bill allowing the Red River Bridge Company to sue the state over the issue, partially in response to meetings in

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...

and Denison, Texas, demanding the free bridge be opened. The next day, Governor Murray declared

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

at the site, enforced by

Oklahoma National Guard The Oklahoma National Guard, a division of the Oklahoma Military Department, is the component of the United States National Guard in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It comprises both Army (OKARNG) and Air (OKANG) National Guard components. The Governo ...

smen, and personally appeared at the site, armed with a revolver, hours before a Muskogee, Oklahoma, court issued an injunction prohibiting him from blocking the northern toll bridge approach. Murray directed the guardsmen to allow anyone to cross either bridge. Murray discovered on July 27 that the free bridge was in danger of being closed permanently. He expanded the martial-law zone across the river, stationing guardsmen on both free bridge approaches. The injunction against the bridge opening was dissolved and the martial law order rescinded on August 6. News of the dispute made national and international headlines.

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

may have believed that the events were evidence of in-fighting between the American states, weakening the union. The free bridge that was the cause of the dispute was opened on Labor Day, September 7, 1931. It was replaced in 1995, though a portion of the bridge was saved as a historical attraction and relocated to a park in

References

External links

Red River Bridge Controversy – Handbook of Texas Online
* Toll Bridge coordinates:
Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{Authority control History of Oklahoma Battles and conflicts without fatalities History of Texas Internal territorial disputes of the United States Internal wars of the United States Bridges in Oklahoma Bridges in Texas 1931 in Oklahoma 1931 in Texas Former toll bridges in Oklahoma Former toll bridges in Texas Red River of the South Borders of Oklahoma Borders of Texas Toll (fee) Transport controversies

References

Further reading

External links