The Kate Shelley High Bridge shortly after it was completed.
Photo: Chicago & North Western Historical Society
It was 6 July 1881.
One locomotive headed west from Moingona toward Ogden, while the other locomotive headed east towards Boone.
Kate Shelley, a 15-year-old Irish immigrant girl living with her family near the creek, heard the crash.
The other two men were lost in the water.
Kate shouted to the men that she would get help, and then turned towards Moingona.
The railroaders then organized a rescue party and went in search of the men still stranded at Honey Creek.
The Kate Shelley High Bridge along with the new concrete bridge.
Photo:Bob/Flickr
Kate was hailed as a hero.
The Order of Railway Conductors gave her a gold watch and chain.
The state of Iowa also gave her a gold medal.
In 1901 a massive steel trestle was erected over Des Moines River.
Thus Kate became the first woman in the United States to have a bridge named after her.
In 2009, the Union Pacific Railroad built a second viaduct alongside the old one.
This one was officially named the Union Pacific Kate Shelley Bridge.
Kate Shelley died in 1912.
References:# Kate Shelley: A Girls Heroic Journey,Historynet#www.kateshelley.com
