McGilvray Road is located in Northwest La Crosse County, Wisconsin, in the Van Loon Wildlife Area. I found it by following Rustic Road 64 off US 53/WIS 93 near Holmen.
Located on a former vehicular road is a unique combination of seven rare bowstring arch truss bridges and one low truss bridge. They represent two styles of bridge construction popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries which are quickly being replaced due to deterioration or inability to meet today’s greater traffic requirements. Currently the McGilvray Road and its bridges are open only to pedestrian traffic.
The bridges were built between 1905 and 1921. New planking has been added, rusted steel support beams have been replaced, and repairs have been made on new pilings.
In the early 1850’s, there was no good means of travel between La Crosse and Trempealeau Counties. In 1854 Alexander McGilvray started a ferry service across the Black River, carrying horse-drawn wagons. This ferry, and the road leading to it, significantly shortened the trip between the two Counties. These bottom lands were farmed and this road was essential to the movement of agricultural products and ordinary traffic. The ferry was in operation for almost 40 years until 1892.
The increased logging over the years made for difficult maintenance and unreliable operations of the McGilvray Ferry. In 1892 the the ferry operation ended. It was replaced by a 254 foot steel bridge over the main channel of the Black River. There were further improvements to the road in the early 1900’s. Automobiles made this road more popular as local farming declined.
The main channel bridge was in operation between 1892 and 1948 and is referred to as Bridge 7. It was removed in 1954.
In addition to the steel bridge, eight wooden pile bridges were also constructed in 1892 along McGilvray Road. This old county road crossed over the swampy backwater as a direct route from La Crosse County to the Black River main channel bridge. The wood bridges were constructed to aid in spanning the maze of sloughs and channels of the bottoms. Between weather, use, and flooding, the wooden bridges did not hold up well.
The five bowstring bridges remaining today were constructed by the La Crosse Steel Company after it bought Charles Horton’s patent. Horton’s patent included a clip which was designed to allow a combination of round and square eye-bars with the eyes made by looping over and welding the end of the bar. Horton believed a stronger bridge would result if the steel was forged instead of drilling holes for bolts, etc. It also allowed for movement which resulted from variation in weight loads.
A wooden Kingpost bridge was located at the site of bridge #5. It stood the test of time until deterioration necessitated its removal in 1986.
In 1957 the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources – DNR, acquired the roadway, bridges and much of the surrounding countryside for inclusion in the Van Loon Wildlife Area. The area was named for William Van Loon as he was one of the first farmers to sell his land to the DNR.
The Friends of McGilvray Road is a non-profit, all volunteer organization dedicated to maintaining the old McGilvray roadway as a hiking trail and preserving the six remaining historic bridges as a service to present and future generations who are interested in history and enjoy natural areas.
It was incorporated in 1989 as a 501 (c) (3) non profit organization. It was established to form a partnership with the WI Dept. of Natural Resources for the purpose of maintaining the Old McGilvray Road and the five remaining Horton bridges.
The Van Loon Wildlife Area is a 4,003-acre property located on the Black River in northwestern La Crosse County, approximately 3.5 miles northwest of the Village of Holmen. Habitat on the property consists primarily of floodplain forest, sand prairies and oak savanna. Situated on sand and gravel deposits of the Black River, it features groves of scattered oak forest with green ash. Van Loon is noted for yellow-crowned night herons, Acadian flycatchers, cerulean warblers and prothonotary warblers that breed there. The site also supports red-headed woodpeckers, blue-winged warblers and field sparrows
