The Piano Road Bridge

The Piano Road Bridge links the old Czech communities of High Hill and Dubina in Fayette County, Texas.  The bridge designer intended it for carriages and horses and foot traffic.  The iron trusses came all the way from Cleveland — the one in Ohio. 

In years past, before the wooden planks were nailed down, it is said they made a noise like piano keys as you crossed.  Some speculate that is the source of its name. 

One thing is for certain: the people at The King Bridge Company back in 1885 did not build for a crossing by two women in an SUV.  Even though we had no idea of its history until we were back to our computers, we could see it was special and we drove slowly to the other side.

This stretch of Highway 615 takes you back in time.  Trees line the road and form canopies here and there.  Underbrush is thick.  The countryside is mostly deserted.  It seemed unlikely that a road to the original Czech settlement in Texas, with its beautiful painted church, would be unpaved.  We checked our location on GPS just to make sure we were in the right place.

 Morning fog had just lifted when we stopped in the middle of the narrow road to take a photo.  You could hear leaves rustling and birds singing, but nothing else.  We stood there for a long while, enjoying the damp breeze and the nature sounds (and trying to decide if we were crazy to cross an old bridge that surely was not designed for vehicular traffic).

 Now we know that an April 2012 restoration project reinforced the bridge and that it is rare for a bridge of this vintage to be restored and reinforced for continued use.  We’ve decided to return to Piano Road Bridge in the spring when everything is green and blooming and cross the East Navidad River one more time.

If you would like to cross too, turn north off Interstate 10 on Highway 77, then go east on Highway 615 (Piano Road) toward Dubina, Texas. 

Even if historic bridge preservation isn’t your thing, there is a very good reason to cross to the other side.  The Czech Painted Church at Dubina is absolutely beautiful. 

Six miles away, at the other end of the Piano Road, the town of High Hill has their own beautiful church. 

And we liked the look of the High Hill Store.  Wish it had been open.  We love to shop. 

Traveling small-town Texas is fun.  We should have done this long ago. 

Have a great day!