Jamestown Bridge accident/collapse

Scope and Content: A scanned copy of an original photograph of the Jamestown Bridge accident/collapse, in the Fall of 1892. Written on the back of a photocopy of the photograph was: "In the fall of 1892 a serious disaster occurred in the Jamestown valley. Late one evening Mr. William Ashton was crossing, with his threshing machine engine, the old wooden bridge which then spanned the Catfish, when suddenly the beams, which were very much decayed, gave way, and horses, engine and driver were precipitated a distance of twenty feet into the stream below. One of the horses was killed, and the engine fell on Mr. Ashton, injuring him so severely that for weeks his life was despaired of, but in the end medical skill triumphed and he slowly recovered. A new wooden bridge has since been built at a cost of $1,640."