Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co.
A historic American engineering, bridge-building, steel-fabrication, and wartime shipbuilding company based in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. was an American engineering and construction firm founded in Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1874. It became known for designing, fabricating, erecting, and rehabilitating steel bridges during the expansion of transportation infrastructure in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The company operated under several closely related names, including Missouri Valley Bridge Company and Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Works. The firm was established by Edwin Farnsworth and D. W. Eaves. In 1888, Alonzo J. Tullock acquired the business after having worked for it as an engineer and manager. Under the Tullock family, the company developed into a significant national bridge contractor and steel fabricator. Katherine S. Tullock, Alonzo Tullock's widow, served as president from 1907 to 1921. Her leadership was notable because senior management in heavy engineering and construction remained overwhelmingly male during that period. Hubert S. Tullock, her son, succeeded her as president in 1921. During the early twentieth century, Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron supplied and erected bridges in numerous parts of the United States. Its work included highway, railroad, river-crossing, truss, suspension, and other steel structures. Projects associated with the company included the Free Bridge and McKinley Bridge over the Mississippi River, the 1911 Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge across the Columbia River, and the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge completed in 1929. In some projects, the company performed erection or construction work using steel manufactured by another producer rather than fabricating every major component itself. The company's surviving work is represented by a substantial group of bridges listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. These structures span a wide geographic range, including Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, and Illinois. Examples include the 19th Street Bridge in Denver, Chevelon Creek Bridge in Arizona, Cottonwood River bridges in Kansas, the Eleventh Street Arkansas River Bridge in Oklahoma, the Lewis and Clark Bridge in Montana, and the State Highway 3 Bridge at the Nueces River in Texas. Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron also carried out a 1914 rehabilitation of the Waco Suspension Bridge in Texas. World War II expanded the company's industrial role beyond fixed infrastructure. It opened shipyards in Evansville, Indiana, and at its existing Leavenworth location. The Evansville yard produced landing ships, tank landing craft, and YSD-11-class seaplane wrecking derricks for the American war effort. The company built 171 landing ships, tank; 64 landing craft, tank; and three seaplane wrecking derricks at Evansville before that yard closed in 1945. The Leavenworth yard constructed smaller naval and military vessels and remained active after the war, later concentrating largely on towboats and barges until 1982. The company ranked 98th among United States corporations by the value of its World War II military production contracts. Its eventual postwar corporate status and precise date of final dissolution are not established in the supplied references.
History
Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. was formed in Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1874 by Edwin Farnsworth and D. W. Eaves. Its original business combined engineering, bridge construction, and iron or steel work at a time when expanding railroads, roads, and river commerce were creating demand for standardized metal bridges. The firm's location in Leavenworth placed it within an important Midwestern transportation and industrial region. In 1888, the company was acquired by Alonzo J. Tullock, who had previously served as its engineer and manager. The acquisition brought the business under Tullock family leadership and preceded a long period in which the company supplied and erected bridges in many parts of the United States. It was involved in a range of structures, including railroad bridges, highway bridges, river crossings, truss bridges, suspension bridges, and bridge rehabilitation. The company did not necessarily manufacture all steel used in every project; on the Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge, for example, the Pennsylvania Steel Company manufactured the steel superstructure while Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron erected it. The company's early twentieth-century portfolio included major Mississippi River crossings such as the Free Bridge and McKinley Bridge, as well as the Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge across the Columbia River. The latter was erected in 1911 and opened in January 1912, extending approximately 3,000 feet. The Cairo Mississippi River Bridge, connecting Cairo, Illinois, with Bird's Point, Missouri, was completed in 1929. These projects illustrate the company's role as an engineering and construction contractor capable of handling large river infrastructure. Leadership also distinguished the firm's history. Katherine S. Tullock, widow of Alonzo J. Tullock, became president in 1907 and held the position until 1921. Her presidency was unusual for its period because heavy construction and structural engineering were male-dominated industries. Her son Hubert S. Tullock became president in 1921. The supplied historical material does not identify later presidents or provide a complete account of the company's corporate ownership after the Tullock era. Many bridges associated with Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron are now recognized as historic resources. National Register-listed examples are distributed across the American West, Midwest, and South. They include the 19th Street Bridge in Denver; Chevelon Creek Bridge and Fish Creek Bridge in Arizona; several Kansas truss bridges; the Eleventh Street Arkansas River Bridge in Tulsa; the Ninth Street Bridge in Boise; the Lewis and Clark Bridge in Montana; the State Highway 3 Bridge at the Nueces River in Texas; and the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge. The company also participated in the 1914 rehabilitation of the Waco Suspension Bridge. The surviving structures demonstrate the durability and geographical reach of its bridge work. World War II led the company into shipbuilding. It established yards in Evansville, Indiana, and Leavenworth, Kansas. Evansville produced 171 landing ships, tank, 64 landing craft, tank, and three YSD-11-class seaplane wrecking derricks before closing in 1945. The Leavenworth facility built a broader selection of smaller naval and military vessels and continued operating after the war. Its later output consisted mainly of towboats and barges, with activity continuing until 1982. By the value of its World War II military production contracts, Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron ranked 98th among United States corporations. The available references do not establish the exact date or circumstances of the company's final cessation as a corporate entity.
- 1982
Leavenworth shipyard activity ended
[1]The Leavenworth yard's later towboat and barge operations continued until 1982.
- 1945
Evansville shipyard closed
[1]The Evansville yard ended wartime production after building landing vessels and seaplane wrecking derricks.
- 1941
World War II shipyards opened
[1]The company opened shipbuilding facilities in Evansville, Indiana, and Leavenworth, Kansas.
- 1929
Cairo Mississippi River Bridge completed
[1]The company was associated with construction of the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge between Illinois and Missouri.
- 1921
Hubert S. Tullock became president
[1]Hubert S. Tullock succeeded Katherine S. Tullock as president.
- 1911
Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge erected
[1]The company erected the approximately 3,000-foot Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge across the Columbia River.
- 1907
Katherine S. Tullock became president
[1]Katherine S. Tullock began a fourteen-year term as company president.
- 1888
Alonzo J. Tullock acquired the company
[1]Alonzo J. Tullock, formerly the firm's engineer and manager, acquired the business.
- 1874
Company founded in Leavenworth
[1]Edwin Farnsworth and D. W. Eaves formed the Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron Co. in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Products and positioning
A vertically capable regional-to-national infrastructure contractor that combined bridge engineering, structural-steel fabrication, field erection, bridge rehabilitation, and later shipbuilding.
Bridge construction · 1874
Steel highway and river bridges
The company's principal business was the engineering, fabrication, supply, and erection of steel bridges for roads and river crossings. Its work included substantial Mississippi River projects, the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge, and numerous structures later recognized as historic resources. The portfolio covered both large crossings and smaller county or state highway bridges.
Rail infrastructure
Railroad bridges
Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron constructed and erected railroad bridge structures, including the Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge across the Columbia River. The company could act as an erection contractor even when another steel producer supplied the superstructure, demonstrating its role across multiple stages of bridge delivery.
Bridge structures
Truss and suspension bridges
The firm's associated projects included Pratt truss, Warren truss, bedstead, and suspension bridge structures. It also rehabilitated existing infrastructure, including the Waco Suspension Bridge in 1914. Many surviving examples are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Military shipbuilding
Landing ships, tank
At its Evansville, Indiana, wartime shipyard, the company built 171 landing ships, tank for the United States military during World War II. These vessels formed part of the company's expansion from fixed steel infrastructure into naval production.
Military shipbuilding
Landing craft, tank
The Evansville yard also produced 64 landing craft, tank during World War II. The production program was part of the company's military-contract work and contributed to its ranking among major U.S. wartime industrial contractors.
Commercial shipbuilding
Towboats and barges
After the war, the Leavenworth shipyard remained active and concentrated mainly on towboats and barges. This postwar marine work continued until 1982, extending the company's industrial activity beyond its earlier bridge and wartime vessel programs.
Brand decisions
1945
Shifted postwar marine production toward commercial vesselsStrategyBackground
Following the end of wartime production, the Leavenworth facility remained in operation.
Action taken
The remaining shipyard focused mainly on towboats and barges rather than the wartime landing vessels produced at Evansville.
Aftermath
The Leavenworth shipyard continued this later phase of activity until 1982.
1941
Entered wartime shipbuildingStrategyBackground
World War II created large military demand for landing vessels and other naval-support craft.
Action taken
The company opened shipyards in Evansville, Indiana, and Leavenworth, Kansas, adding military vessel production to its bridge, engineering, and steel-fabrication activities.
Aftermath
The Evansville yard produced hundreds of military vessels and closed in 1945, while the Leavenworth yard continued with smaller naval craft and later commercial towboats and barges.
Recent events
- 1982
Leavenworth yard continued postwar vessel production[1]
Other
The company's Leavenworth shipyard continued after World War II and later focused mainly on towboats and barges until 1982.
- 1945
Evansville shipyard completed major landing-vessel program[1]
Other
Before closing in 1945, the Evansville yard produced 171 landing ships, tank; 64 landing craft, tank; and three YSD-11-class seaplane wrecking derricks.
- 1941
Missouri Valley Bridge & Iron expanded into wartime shipbuilding[1]
Other
During World War II, the company opened shipyards at Evansville, Indiana, and Leavenworth, Kansas, adding naval and military vessel production to its bridge and steel operations.
Sources1 sources
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