Historic Bridges of the U.S. | Belmont-Columbus Ferry

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Photos

Historic postcard

The postcard says, "Mississippi River Ferry between Columbus, Kentucky and Belmont, Missouri. First established in 1825."

This image was submitted by Mark Frazier.

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Dead end on west bank

These photos show the scene today from the Missouri shore

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Looking toward east bank

Facts

Overview: Lost ferry crossing over the Mississippi River on MO 80/KY 80 between Belmont and Columbus
Status: No longer in operation
Design: Ferry
Approximate latitude, longitude: +36.76378, -89.11802 (decimal degrees)
36°45'50" N, 89°07'05" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates: 16/310952/4070759 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map: Arlington
Inventory number: BH 22055 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Comments

Belmont-Columbus Ferry

Posted August 14, 2008, by John Koski (koski [at] att [dot] net)

I took this ferry in 1970 from MO side. The road deteriorated from paved to gravel as it got closer the Mississippi. The last half mile was just a dirt trail. I thought there was a bridge here, and when the road ended at the gravel river bank there was nothing. As I turned around to go back, an operator of a front end loader stacking logs called out to wait for the ferry. I looked harder, and sure enough, on the other side was the ferry unloading. When it came across, it jammed it's ramp into the gravel bank, good enough so you could drive on. That saved me a lot of driving.