We hit several towns along the lower Des Moines River in Iowa last weekend to examine the economic ties that riverboats once served with the area and St. Louis. The first town, Bentonsport, was laid out in 1839 and was named after Missouri senator Thomas Hart Benton. It actually reached a population of 1,000 and possessed several mills, which are no longer extant. The current population is less than 100 people. The Mason House, above, dates from the 1840s and is one of the best preserved houses in town.

This building, which would fit in anywhere in the oldest parts of St. Louis, was built in 1853 and is the Greef Dry Goods or General Store. It apparently was the largest in southwest Iowa. The western addition was constructed in 1865.

In general, the architecture reflects its construction before the Civil War. Ironically, the construction of the railroad to Des Moines put an end to the success of this town and it shrank quickly afterward. The river then became unnavigable in 1870.

The bridge, which is closed to automobile traffic, is from 1883.

The steel superstructure was built by King Iron Bridge Company of Cleveland, with a cost of $31.00 a foot. Some readers might remember that the massive Detroit-Superior Bridge in Cleveland was also built by this famous bridge building company.

Frank Synder and Company of Dayton, Ohio constructed the piers and approaches after winning the contract from Van Buren County, with a payment of $7.50 per cubic foot. Note the drill marks from the quarry and the clamp marks from the crane in the stone blocks.

With the relatively low water levels nowadays, it’s hard to image riverboats navigating the river back in the 1840s, but apparently there were locks and dams that maintained higher water levels.