View source for Regency Bridge

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Regency Suspension Bridge
| nrhp_type = 
| image = Regency Bridge Side View.JPG
| caption = Side view of Regency Bridge from 2005.
| nearest_city = [[Regency, Texas]]
| coordinates = {{coord|31|24|37|N|98|50|45|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Texas#USA
| map_label = Regency Suspension Bridge
| locmap_relief = yes
| built = {{Start date|1939}}
| architect = [[Austin Bridge Company]]
| architecture = 
| added = December 12, 1976
| area = less than one acre
| refnum = 76002052<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
| designated_other2=TSAL
| designated_other2_date=May 28, 1981
| designated_other2_number=[https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200000478 8200000478]
| designated_other2_num_position=bottom
}}

The '''Regency Bridge''', locally known as the "Swinging Bridge," is a one-lane [[suspension bridge]] over the [[Colorado River (Texas)|Colorado River]] in [[Texas]]. It is located at the intersection of [[Mills County, Texas|Mills County]] Road 433 and [[San Saba County, Texas|San Saba County]] Road 137, both gravel roads, near a small community called [[Regency, Texas|Regency]]. The bridge spans the Colorado River between Mills and San Saba counties.<ref name="ausc051111"/>

==History==
The main span is {{Convert|343|ft}} long, but counting the approach spans, engineers list the bridge’s overall length at {{Convert|403|ft}}. The wooden deck of the bridge is {{Convert|16|ft}} wide. It was built in 1939, with most of the work being done by hand. An earlier bridge constructed in 1903 collapsed under the weight of a herd of cattle, and a later bridge built in 1936 washed away in a flood.<ref name="ausc051111" /> The Regency Bridge was restored by James Harris in 1997, with then-[[George W. Bush|Governor Bush]] attending the re-dedication service. This was a major event for the community of around 25 people.

Local teenagers accidentally set the wood surface on fire on December 29, 2003, burning a hole in some planks and causing $20,000 in damage.<ref name="ausc040305"/><ref name="ausc051111"/> The bridge was repaired and reopened to traffic in early 2005.<ref name="ausc051111"/> After closing in late 2014, the bridge is once again open to traffic.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.txdot.gov/apps-cq/project_tracker/projectdetails.htm?projid=092323025&dist=Brownwood |title=Current TxDOT Projects: Mills County |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023015050/http://www.txdot.gov/apps-cq/project_tracker/projectdetails.htm?projid=092323025&dist=Brownwood |archive-date=2014-10-23|url-status=dead}}</ref> After a closure in Sept 2020 due to structural damage, the bridge was re-opened to traffic in May 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.goldthwaiteeagle.com/2020/09/22/regency-bridge-closed/ |title=Regency Bridge Closed |website=The Goldthwaite Eagle |date=September 22, 2020 |access-date=May 2, 2021}}</ref>

In 2005, the Regency Bridge became the last suspension bridge in Texas open to automobile traffic.<ref name="ausc051111"/>

==Commemoration==
A nearby [[historical marker]], located on the southeast side of the intersection of [[Farm to Market Road|FM]] 574 and Mills County Road 433 (which is just east of the intersection of [[Farm to Market Road 45|FM 45]] and FM 574) reads:
{{Blockquote|This area's first Colorado River bridge was at Regency, on Mills-San Saba County line. Built 1903, it served ranchers and farmers for going to market, but fell in 1924, killing a boy, a horse, and some cattle. Its successor was demolished by a 1936 flood. With 90 per cent of the work done by hand labor, the Regency Suspension Bridge was erected in 1939. It became the pride of the locality, and youths gathered there in the 1940s to picnic, dance, and sing. Bypassed by paved farm roads, it now (1976) survives as one of the last suspension bridges in Texas.<ref name="atlas1"/>}}

==In popular culture==
*The bridge is included in the opening credits for ''[[Texas Country Reporter]]''.<ref name="ausc040305"/>
*In 2017 Regency Bridge was featured on an episode of [[The Daytripper|The Daytripper with Chet Garner]] as part of the San Saba episode.  
*In 2005, Alton and Sue Watson founded the There's Something In The Water Songwriter Festival featuring musicians and songwriters from Texas, Oklahoma, and other regions. The annual festival was held for 12 years on the third weekend in April at an old campground located on the Mills County side of the river.<ref name="regfest" />
*''World Without Waves'' was filmed in the area and featured the Regency bridge in several scenes.<ref>{{IMDb title|qid=Q130342833|id=tt0287147|title=World Without Waves}}</ref>

==Gallery==
[[File:Regency suspension bridge, east side view.jpg|thumb|Regency suspension bridge, east side view]]

==See also==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Texas}}
*[[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Texas]]
*[[List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Mills County, Texas]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in San Saba County, Texas]]

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="atlas1">{{cite web |work=Texas Historic Sites Atlas |publisher=[[Texas Historical Commission]] |title=Regency Suspension Bridge |url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=5333004235&site_name=Regency%20Suspension%20Bridge&class=5000 |accessdate=April 11, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="ausc040305">{{cite news |first=Gerald E. |last=McLeod |newspaper=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |location=[[Austin, TX]] |title=Day Trips: A bridge to the past |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2004-03-05/200177/ |date=March 5, 2004 |accessdate=April 11, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="ausc051111">{{cite news |first=Gerald E. |last=McLeod |newspaper=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |location=[[Austin, TX]] |title=Day Trips: Earlier this year the Regency Bridge north of San Saba became the last suspension bridge in Texas that cars can drive across |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/columns/2005-11-11/309080/ |date=November 11, 2005 |accessdate=April 11, 2014}}</ref>
<ref name="regfest">{{cite web |publisher=Official There's Something In The Water Songwriter Festival |title=About Us |url=https://www.facebook.com/regencyfestival/info |accessdate=April 11, 2014}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
*{{Cite web |title=Regency Bridge |url=https://regencybridge.net/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215025534/https://regencybridge.net/ |archive-date=2021-12-15 |website=regencybridge.net}}
*{{Handbook of Texas|id=hnr21|name=Regency, Texas}}
*{{Structurae|id=20005564|title=Regency Suspension Bridge}}
*{{HAER |survey=TX-61 |id=tx0793 |title=Regency Suspension Bridge, Spanning Colorado River at County Route 126, Goldthwaite, Mills County, TX |photos=12 |color=1 |data=2|cap=2}}
*{{Cite web |url=http://arencambre.com/blog/2005/11/28/thanksgiving-trip/#bridge |title=A visit to the Regency Bridge on November 22, 2005}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in Texas}}
{{Mills County, Texas}}
{{San Saba County, Texas}}

[[Category:Bridges completed in 1939]]
[[Category:Suspension bridges in Texas]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Mills County, Texas]]
[[Category:Transportation in Mills County, Texas]]
[[Category:Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in San Saba County, Texas]]
[[Category:Transportation in San Saba County, Texas]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Texas]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Mills County, Texas]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in San Saba County, Texas]]
[[Category:Texas State Antiquities Landmarks]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Colorado River (Texas)]]
[[Category:Towers in Texas]]
[[Category:1939 establishments in Texas]]