Goldthwaite, Mills County
(near extinct town of Regency, 4.4 mi. S) This area's first Colorado River bridge was built in 1903 between Mills and San Saba counties to serve area ranchers and farmers. The bridge fell into the river on May 9, 1924, killing Raymond Burns Jernigan (b. June 28, 1914), his horse, and several cattle. Its replacement was destroyed in a 1936 flood. Erected in 1939 by 90 percent hand labor, the Regency Suspension Bridge became the pride of the area. Youths gathered there in the 1940s to picnic, dance, and sing. Bypassed by paved roads, it survives as one of the last suspension bridges in Texas. (1976, 1997)