Built during the Great Depression and completed in 1934, the Ione Bridge extends over the Pend Oreille River near the community of Ione, Washington. Renovations in 1967 replaced the wooden trestle approach spans with steel trusses but left the integrity of the original spans intact. As the last example of its unique architectural style in Pend Oreille County, the Ione Bridge is an enduring symbol of early transportation developments in the region.

Efforts to construct a bridge at this location date back to least 1919, when individuals formed the Ione Bridge Association to lobby for a bridge. That year, a private toll bridge was built across the Pend Oreille River about 12 miles from Ione at Metaline Falls, but the tolls were too expensive for most travelers. By this time, highway improvement projects and an increased demand for lumber caused a significant rise in motor vehicle traffic throughout the region.

Finally, in 1932, construction of the bridge at Ione began and was completed two years later. Harold A. Sewell, who designed bridges throughout Pend Oreille County at Metaline Falls, Usk, and Newport, also designed this bridge. The bridge project brought much needed jobs to an area severely impacted by the Great Depression. The Ione Bridge also contributed to the prosperity of the area by providing access for loggers and tourists to the Kaniksu National Forest. The bridge continues to serve the community of Ione and the surrounding area in this capacity, and is emblematic of the rise of automobiles for tourism and commerce in the early twentieth century.

Credits and Sources:

Bamonte, Tony, and Susan Schaeffer Bamonte. History of Pend Oreille County. Spokane:

Tornado Publications, 1996.

Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation. Historic Property Inventory Report. Ione

Bridge. 2010.

Fandrich, Blain. Pend Oreille River: An Evaluation of 23 Historic Sites Located Between Albeni

Falls Dam and Box Canyon Dam. Billings, Montana: Ethnoscience, Inc., 2002.

Historical Research Associates, Inc. Box Canyon Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 2042,

Historic Properties Management Plan. Missoula, Montana, 2007.

Photographs courtesy of the Metalines Public Library and Historical Research Associates, Inc.