In the early twentieth century, the burgeoning timber industry hastened the need for a reliable river crossing in central Pend Oreille County. With a natural rise above the river in an otherwise flat landscape, Usk seemed the most promising spot for a bridge between Newport and Ione. Yet, construction was not immediately forthcoming since the State of Washington only funded bridges serving state highways. In 1919, the state legislature passed a measure allowing bridges to be built under a franchise arrangement where the bridge owner could set and collect tolls. Almost immediately, Pend Oreille County commissioners approved a franchise to an Usk resident. His plan called for a pile trestle bridge with a drawbridge feature to ensure passage for steamboats and other craft moving log rafts along the river. Construction of the Usk Bridge began that year using volunteer labor and wood donated by the Panhandle Lumber Company. The company also donated the services of the steamer Spokane and its pile-driving capabilities.

According to a 1962 article in the Newport Miner, the Usk Bridge remained “An Important Link” because it “carries a large amount of logging equipment and logs, pulp, lumber, and is the nearest to the fire fighting equipment used in the Kaniksu forest. It is the only bridge on the Pend Oreille River in the entire area, being 16 miles from the interstate bridge at Newport and some 30 miles from the Ione bridge.” In 1964, the county replaced the wooden bridge using a combination of county and federal funds. The new, 2,310-foot-long, wood-and-concrete structure has served the community for over four decades and now carries a traffic load of over 2,000 vehicles per day.

Credits and Sources:

Atyeo, Janelle. “Usk Bridge Work Begins Monday,” The Miner, March 21, 2010.

Bamonte, Tony, and Susan Schaeffer Bamonte. History of Pend Oreille County. Spokane: Tornado Creek Publications, 1996.

Kane-John, Merriann. “I, Too, Discovered Gardner Cave.” Big Smoke, 1986.

Unknown. “Advance Planning for New Bridge at Usk to Begin.” The Miner, November 22, 1962.

Unknown. “Granted Bridge Franchises.” The Miner, July 24, 1919.

Unknown. “County Road Chief Giver Dope on Budget, Usk Bridge.” The Miner, May 9, 1963.

Unknown. “Motion Started in Behalf of Building Bridge at Usk.” The Miner, December 6, 1962.

Photographs courtesy of the Pend Oreille County Historical Society and Historical Research Associates, Inc.