with on this trip, farmers and fisher
men who lived in ihe area and used die
waterways for transportation would
have to tie their boats up to the bridge,
climb over the rail, secure the draw
bridge crank from its convenient rest¬
ing place beside the rail, always de¬
tached and left there by the previous
boatman. I bis crank was about five
feet long, a handle on each end with a
square hole in the middle to fit the steel
shaft that extended downward through
the bridge to the operating gears. The
bridge was supported by steel rollers
that moved on wood base, and I was
told by one of the old-timers that a
child could handle it with case. As best
I could determine, this old high draw
bridge was built in the mid 1800's
It was mid-September 1919. 52
years ago that Bill and I pulled our
boat up on shore above the bridge, just
a short distance from the late Martin
Pointer's general store, not shown in
the picture and now dilapidated and
rotting away. I remember well that our
lunch consisted of sardines and pork
and beans, three-inch square crackers,
and a soft drink to wash it down. I his
being the first and only manually-
operated draw bridge I had ever seen.
I proceeded to get out my camera and
snap a picture. This fine photograph is
still in excellent condition in one of my
old time albums and the negative is
perfectly preserved in my negative file.
( see cut )
Due to the fascination of this odd
shaped structure and the fact that it
was operated by man and not machine.
I decided to make a special trip to Tulls
to get a picture of the new bridge to
place in my album beside the old one.
The new photograph is the result of
this trip August 26. 1971. and shows
the modern steel and concrete con-
Do-Il- Yourself Draw
at Tull’s Creek
The old monuallyoperoted drowbndge ol TuITt Creek wot built in the mid 1800's Bootmcn tied up
then boo It, climbed to the budge ond cranked it open, took their boot* through, ond then cranked
it doted. Mr Rultin made this picture while on a tithing trip in 1919.
Here it the new bridge, photogrophed a tew wceki 090 by Mr. Ruffin. Note hit remork obout the
cypret* tree citending obo«c the bridge in both pictures. Tull'* Creek Bridge it locoted in Currituck
County, about 5 mile* from Moyock.
Mr. Ituffiii's two pictures. taken 52
years apart, record the passing of
a little-remembered type of draw¬
bridge.
In I hi- State Magazine's most re¬
cent “ Milestone Fdition" (January I.
1971), Albert Ruffin, a Columbia,
V. C„ subscriber, noticed our item
about the new bridge that had been
built to replace “ the old high bridge " at
Tull’s Creek in Currituck County, lie
recalled stopping there for lunch while
on a fishing trip many years ago with
his friend the late Rill Rryanl, of Wil¬
son. N. C.
Fascinated by the hand-operated
drawbridge. Mr. Ruffin took a picture
of it. Then, after reading our item 52
vears later, he went back a few weeks
ago and made a picture of the new
Tull’s Creek
И
ridge to place beside the
old one in his album.
Readers will be fascinated, loo. with
Mr. Ruffin’s description of the odd¬
shaped drawbridge which was manu¬
ally -operated on Tull’s Creek over a
half-century ago. - - I D
sti action, raised considerably higher
than the old one, giving tourists a
much better view of this beautiful area.
According to the old-timers I talked
THE STATE. September is. 1971
17
