Ties connecting bridge disasters in Minneapolis and the Quad-Cities go back as far as the very first bridge over the Mississippi River itself.

A wooden bridge connecting Rock Island and Davenport completed in 1856 often is credited with being the first bridge across the river. But others say the first bridge really was a footbridge built in 1854 at St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, ironically near the site of the I-35W collapse site.

The local bridge indeed was the first railroad bridge to span the Mississippi. On April 21, a single locomotive was the first to traverse the span. The following day, three locomotives pulled eight passenger cars from Rock Island to Davenport.

Railroad men cheered, and riverboaters bemoaned the new bridge. But it was to survive only 15 more days.

On April 6, the Effie Afton, a late-model steamship, powered upriver and through the open span. But almost through, it collided with one of the bridge piers, and rushing water pushed the steamer back into the bridge itself, catching both on fire.

Passengers and crew escaped without major injury, but neither the boat nor the bridge survived the resulting fire. The Effie Afton drifted downriver and eventually sank, but not before one bridge span fell into the river -- much to the delight of other nearby riverboat captains.

Some say destruction of the bridge was deliberate, but that was never proven, although the case was taken to court by the owners of the Effie Afton. Defending the railroad's right to traverse the river was a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln.

After a long trial, the jury deliberated but a few hours and ended up as hung jury. The judge dismissed the case, seen as a victory for the bridge builders and railroads over the riverboaters.

That first bridge was repaired in four months, and later weathered both an ice gorge and a tornado in 1868. It continued in operation until a second bridge was constructed at the same site in 1866. A third span was constructed in 1872 and served until 1896 when the current Government Bridge was opened.