Changing Technology
The Rocky Ford Bridge brought a timeless river crossing into the automobile age.
Constructed in 1934, the original bridge stood directly above the shallows that carried many centuries of traffic right through the bed of the Arkansas River. Native Americans, fur trappers, Santa Fe freighters, & the U.S. soldiers forded the river here. So did founding settler George W. Swink, whose 1871 trading post gave rise to present-day Rocky Ford.
A timber trestle bridge was built here in the 1880s, & then a sturdier steel & concrete structure replaced it in the 1890s. In 1921 a major flood weakened the bridge. Its single-lane roadway proved insufficient for the heavy produce trucks & increased traffic that came with the designation of State Highway 71 as a major route in 1923.

Built for the Long Haul
With 80-plus was one of the first in a new generation of Colorado highway bridges that employed a steel-stringer design. Eight concrete piers supported the 542-foot-long bridge, which comprised nine 60-foot spans - a relatively generous distance made possible by recent advances in steel rolling processes.
Built with federal relief funds from the National Recovery Administration, the new bridge did more than improve traffic flow over the river. It also helped the local economy inch forward during the Great Depression, providing badly needed work for unemployed residents. Over time, the bridge kept the Arkansas Valley tightly integrated within Colorado's highway network, helping the region's agricultural industry prosper for many decades.

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Original Crossing of the Arkansas River-Rocky Ford- 1/2 mile north & east of here. This marker erected to honor the family & friends of senator George W. Swink founder of the famous Watermelon Day of the Arkansas Valley Fair.
Erected by the Boy Scouts of Crowtero District Rocky M. Council.

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Photo taken looking East at the Little Island

The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas River Valley. The headwaters derive from the snowpack in the Sawatch and Mosquito mountain ranges. It flows east into Kansas and finally through Oklahoma and Arkansas, where it meets the Mississippi River.

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Photo taken crossing the Rocky Ford Looking West

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A post office called Ordway has been in operation since 1890. The community was named after George N. Ordway, a Denver politician.

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