The Regency Suspension Bridge

Regency began as Hanna Valley, one of three rich farming communities along the Colorado River in Mills County. David Hanna and two enslaved people settled there in 1854, and the next year his father, Jesse P. Hanna, and Jesse's four other sons arrived driving horses and cattle. Local tradition holds that the Hanna women persuaded their men to stay because of the area's songbirds. The Hannas had built the first house by 1856. Comanche (Numunuu) raiders attacked the valley in 1862, but the threat had faded by the early 1870s, and the first store opened in 1871.

What the plaque says

The Regency Suspension Bridge (near extinct town of Regency, 22 mi. SW) This area's first Colorado River bridge was at Regency, on Mills-San Saba county line. Built 1903, it served ranchers and farmers for going to market, but fell in 1924, killing a boy, a horse, and some cattle. Its successor was demolished by a 1936 flood. With 90 per cent of the work done by hand labor, the Regency Suspension Bridge was erected in 1939. It became the pride of the locality, and youths gathered there in the 1940s to picnic, dance, and sing. Bypassed by paved farm roads, it now (1976) survives as one of the last suspension bridges in Texas. (1976)

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Mills County State Bank — 0.3 mi
• The Old Town Well, Goldthwaite — 0.3 mi
• Confederate Veterans Memorial of Mills County — 0.3 mi
• Mills County — 0.3 mi