Heizer, Kansas

The entrance to the Heizer bank as it is today

At its peak, the town of Heizer had numerous places of business [5] that were owned and operated in the town. They included: Train Depot (seen here in its prime), blacksmith, hotel, stockyard, lumberyard, church, school, several grain elevators, general stores, hardware store, Heizer Creamery Co, bank established in 1911. Many of these businesses can be seen in the 1902 map here. None of these businesses are in operation today. Only a few of the original buildings still exist, and most are condemned.

In 1887, Barton County opened contract bids for four iron bridges within the county. The Walnut Creek Bridge, to be constructed 0.5 mi. North and 0.5 mi. West of Heizer,[7] was given to C.R. Lane of Topeka, Kansas. Lane was the manager of Topeka's office of the Lane Bridge and Iron Works, a company which provided a variety of metalworking services throughout the Midwest. The company was given $3,700 for the contract, which is equivalent to about $92,204.69 today.[8] The Walnut Creek Bridge "is a pin connected Pratt through truss" which spans 115' long and 16' wide with a wood deck 21' above Walnut Creek.[9] The bridge is unique due to the fact that it is constructed of wrought-iron, which is no longer used in bridge construction with steel being preferable. Additionally, of all Pratt through truss bridges, the Walnut Creek Bridge is the only one known to be constructed by P.E. Lane, who worked for the Lane Bridge and Iron Works company. The bridge was completed in 1887, meaning that horses and wagons were the first vehicles to use the bridge, although eventually it carried cars.[10]

Although the bridge was officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, marking it as a structure of historical importance,[9] it was not enough to save the bridge from falling into disrepair. Today the bridge has been abandoned and its main wooden deck has been removed, as well as the structure as a whole being deemed structurally deficient and likely for imminent failure.[7] Photos of the bridge when it was still in use can be seen here and the bridge can also be seen from satellite here.