Southeast of the Kansas town of Emporia, a one-lane metal bridge from 1907 connects the shores of the Cottonwood River. Its official name is Rocky Ford Bridge; however, locals refer to it more as Bird Bridge, after a Lutheran minister, Thomas Bird, allegedly murdered his wife here in July of 1983. Bird was later convicted for the crime, as well as for killing his lover's husband. A story about the case ran on the front page of the LA Times and inspired the 1987 CBS film "Murder Ordained." Since then, myths about ghosts of the dead appearing around the bridge have wreathed the place. So, I went to investigate...
I visited the place a few times in daylight since I moved to Emporia in 2014, and found the location interesting to walk around, explore, and even have a picnic.
Nothing hinted at the dark history. But how is it after dark..?
I didn't find out until later. I thought about capturing the ghosts of the bridge during one night last winter; alas, being busy at work, I struggled to find time to realize this idea until yesterday. Finally!
With a photo composition in mind, I went lightweight; I took just a torch, a camera with a single lens, and a clamp to attach it to the bridge. At first, I also took a dark hoodie so I wouldn't reflect any light. However, I abolished this plan just after I opened my doors: it was around 9 pm, yet the temperature was still in the high 90s Fahrenheit. Not cool, since I wanted to reach the place from Emporia on a bike.
The merit of cycling there was a bit debatable. The bridge is about nine miles from the city, with roughly half of the distance being on gravel roads. While the surface was manageable even with my narrow slick tires, every time a car passed by, I got covered in a thick layer of dust. Also, let's face it, cycling through the local flat horizons wasn't a match for hills. Still, I was in charge of my pace, and the wide, open sky felt great. I could burble my favorite songs without getting weird looks from the city, think about life, and be myself.
Once I arrived, it was already dark, so I began working. A quick test shot, and... ghosts started to appear.
I left my camera capturing a long exposure and went around the bridge to look for ghosts. The road had some traffic even in the late hours, so on occasion, I had to interrupt the workout to avoid some confusion.
Can you spot hands on that column? That's me hoping that the driver won't see me and freak out, and that the giant spider, which just landed on me, isn't a Brown Recluse.
But it didn't take long, and I had what I came for.
here it is. ghosts of the bridge.
Cycling back, the roads were empty, and the moonlight was so strong that I didn't have to use lights all the way to the town. Fruitful evening, it was.
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Further info: Kraft, S. (2004) Who Killed Sandy Bird?, Los Angeles Times, 2 May.
Update: The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. If you are curious about the structure, the Kansas Historic Resources Inventory published interesting details about it.
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