The Municipal Bridge Vision

Editor's Note: The video below contains an error in that it indicates that there were no fatalities in the building of the Municipal Bridge. This is in error as, based on research performed by Searching for Vindication, there were 2 fatalities in the construction of the bridge as noted below. As a result, the video will be edited to correct this error as soon as possible. However, please note that the conclusions reached in the video remain the same. <mediaplayer width='800' height='600'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPxLLO61lE4</mediaplayer> The George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge as seen from Jeffersonville, with Louisville, Kentucky in the background William Branham often told of a vision he had as a young child of 16 men falling to their deaths while building a bridge across the Ohio river. Prophecy I was playing marbles out with my little brothers, out in the front yard. And all at once I had a strange feeling come on me. And I stopped and set down aside of a tree. And we were right up on the bank from the Ohio River. And I looked down towards Jeffersonville, and I seen a bridge rise up and go across that, the river, span the river. And I seen sixteen men (I counted them) that dropped off of there and lost their lives on that bridge. I run in real quick and told my mother, and she thought I went to sleep. But they kept it in mind, and twenty-two years from then the Municipal Bridge now (that many of you cross when you cross there) crossed the river at the same place, and sixteen men lost their life building that bridge across the river. It's never failed to be perfectly true. (My Life Story, Los Angeles, April 19, 1959) About the Louisville Municipal Bridge Originally called the Louisville Municipal Bridge, the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge is a four-lane cantilever bridge crossing the Ohio River between Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana, carrying US 31. Construction began in June 1928 by the American Bridge Company of Pittsburgh. It was during this time that William Branham was working as a cowhand in Arizona. He returned to Jeffersonville after he received news that his brother Edward had passed away on June 20, 1929. When he returned to Jeffersonville, the new bridge would have been opened or very close to completion. In 1949, the bridge was renamed in honor of George Rogers Clark. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1958, and is still in use today. Problems with the Prophecy Problem 1: No evidence of 16 fatalities We have not been able to find any historic documents or evidence supporting the statement that 16 men died during the construction of the Louisville Municipal Bridge. Additionally, it is clear that William Branham stated that the 16 men died by drowning: Here at the municipal bridge. Sister, no doubt you know where the municipal bridge is, don't you, cross from Jeffersonville to Louisville? Twenty-two years, when I was a little boy, just a little bitty lad about five years old, or six years old, when the Angel of the Lord appeared in the bush... You've heard me tell that haven't you, when I was packing water? Well, about two weeks after that, I was playing marbles with my little brother. And I thought I'd got sick, some real funny feeling came on me. And I went and set down by the side of a tree. And I looked down at the river, and there went a bridge, a big, great big bridge going across the river. And I counted sixteen men that fell off of that bridge and drowned. And I went and told mother. And I told her I seen it. And they thought I was crazy or something. They thought I was just at a little nervous hysterical child. And twenty-two years from that time, on the same ground went the municipal bridge across, and sixteen men lost their lives on it. See? Wasn't nothing that... It's--it's God sent it. Your prayers brought it. See? EXPERIENCES_ PHOENIX.AZ TUESDAY_ 48-0302 Based on research done by Searching for Vindication, it appears that there were 2 fatalities in the construction of the bridge: On Wednesday, June 19, 1929, Richard Pilton died after being hit in the temple with an iron crank. He did not drown. On September 10, 1929. Lloyd McEwen lost his footing and fell, landing on a barge below the bridge. He did not drown, but rather, died from the injuries caused from his fall. The research documented on the Searching for Vindication website refutes any claim that the records in 1929 were inaccurate, and that the 16 fatalities were simply not recorded. We would highly recommend those interested in this issue to read the research performed by Searching for Vindication. Problem 2: Similar fatalities on another bridge Our research indicates that many deaths occurred during the construction of the Big Four Bridge, which is a railroad bridge a half mile upstream from the Municipal Bridge that opened to the public in 1895. A summary of these fatalities includes: 12 people died working on a pier foundation when a caisson flooded, 4 people died when a wooden beam broke in a different pier caisson 21 workers died when a construction crane was dislodged by wind, causing the supporting truss and 41 workers to fall into the Ohio river. In William Branham's vision, 16 people died when they fell off the bridge. With the Big Four Bridge, 16 people died working in caissons under the bridge while 21 died falling off the bridge. All of these fatalities occurred before William Branham was born. Problem 3: The timing of the vision The Louisville Municipal Bridge opened on October 31, 1929. William Branham said that he had the vision twenty-two years prior to the accident. This places the vision in 1907, which is before he was born. However, William Branham also said he had this prophecy when he was either five or six years old (approx. 1914) while playing marbles with his brother. The only things that happened in 1936, which is twenty-two years from 1914, was that the toll on the Louisvill Municipal Bridge changed from 35 cents to 25 cents and the Louisville, a lifeboat anchored near the Municipal Bridge, was relocated downstream. As a result, the fulfillment of this prophecy has nothing to do with twenty-two years from the date of the vision. Problem 4: William Branham's Reference was to the Municipal Bridge We understanding that William Branham took Pastor Pearry Green underneath the Municipal bridge, and pointed out the exact section of the bridge that fell into the river. The problem is not in Pearry Green's retelling of the story - as he did not grow up in Jeffersonville and had no reason to doubt William Branham - the problem lies with William Branham's recollection of the facts and the prophecy. Again, there is no historic indication that any section or portion of the Municipal Bridge fell into the Ohio river. Problem 5: William Branham refers to the Municipal Bridge as being unimportant One would think that William Branham would have been very interested in the municipal bridge because of his vision, but he appears not to have been: That's the way a person that's been redeemed and understands it, you get emotionally. You can't help it when you're... The story was told that he could have--he could live because the perfect lamb died in his place, the little fellow could rejoice, under a... That's the way I felt the day that the story come to my heart. I... Knowing that I was a sinner, I couldn't even find a church that made an altar call. I went from one to the other. No one made an altar call; no one invited. They was all talking about flowers, and the new bridge that went across the river. And I--I wasn't interested in that. You read that in newspaper. I wanted to hear the Bible, the Word. 55-1119 REDEEMER.REDEMPTION_ SAN.FERNANDO.CA Problem 6: Why did William Branham not tell the story in Jeffersonville until 1960? We received the following question on our discussion page - "If what the telling of the bridge is true, that there were not 16 victims, how about the local people living in that time? They must have known about the bridge, and why would Bro. Branham tell such story to the local people? They would know if he had made it up, he would be a bad liar". Take a look at the quotes below. Is it just a bit curious that the first time he related the story in Jeffersonville was in 1960, over 30 years after the fact? 30 years after the fact people may remember that there was a big accident on a bridge where a bunch of people died. But 30 years after the fact, they won't remember when it happened or even how many people died. But these people in Branham Tabernacle trusted William Branham. If they did have a bit of a question, would they easily be able to go back and look? Remember this was prior to Google. It would have been a fair amount of work, even if they had a bit of doubt, so they would have given William Branham the benefit of the doubt, because they trusted him implicitly. Please see the reference to the Big Four Bridge above. It is an interesting coincidence that 15+ years before William Branham was born, there was an accident in which a number of people were killed in a bridge accident one half mile upstream from the municipal bridge. It is likely that any locals might have thought he made a simple mistake and was referring to the wrong bridge. Also, the municipal bridge was renamed in 1949 to the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge. The local simply call it the Second Street Bridge. If you look at the "Generation" book by Angel Smith, you will notice that it doesn't appear that any one in that book lived in Jeffersonville in 1929. Those in the book that were locals (very few) were born after 1930 or would have been small children at the time. Also, it appears that a lot of the people in Branham Tabernacle had moved into the area to specifically be close to WMB and so would not have resided in Jeffersonville in 1929. So in 1960, 30 years after the fact, William Branham told the story and no one noticed. As that was the first time on record that he told it in Jeffersonville, it is really not surprising that no one would have questioned him on it. Excuses for the failed vision brought on by cognitive dissonance If you don't know what cognitive dissonance is, please read our article on the subject. You might find that you are suffering from it! One of the results of cognitive dissonance is that dissonance reduction will often cause the sufferer to look for a simple and easy way to ignore the fact that is causing the dissonance. As a result, quite intelligent people will often settle for answers that are not reasonable, but allow the sufferer to ignore the real issue. William Branham was young when he had the vision If William Branham was young when he had the vision, perhaps he simply forgot it. Kids forget a lot of things and get memories messed up. That would explain why the vision was not fulfilled properly. There are several problems with this explanation: 1. Why would God give a vision to a child but not give him the ability to remember it. 2. William Branham said that they wrote it down. 3. William Branham said, as an adult, that the vision was fulfilled. The problem is that he is attesting to something that was not true. He said that 16 men died on the bridge, but they didn't. The 1937 Flood destroyed all of the historical archives This is the theory floated by VoGR in an attempt to refute the failure of the municipal bridge vision. However, that theory was destroyed by the article on the subject on the Searching for Vindication website. While it is true that some archives were damaged, complete archived copies of the Jeffersonville newspapers and the Coast Guard log books remain preserved. Also, does anyone actually believe that the wives, children and parents of the families of 16 men who died would allow their memories to be forgotten? There isn't the slightest chance that they would. The vision properly relates to the Ohio River Flood of 1937 This excuse basically says that only one small element of the vision was true - that it took place 22 years after he had it. But this would mean that virtually everything about the vision was false. It didn't relate to the bridge construction. No one fell off the bridge in the construction but 385 people died. Trying to tie the Municipal Bridge Vision to the Ohio Flood is virtually impossible unless you are willing to admit that most of the vision was completely wrong but then, doesn't that still create a problem with Deuteronomy 18:22? A Big Question William Branham said he was living in Arizona, not Jeffersonville, when the Municipal Bridge was built. When he returned to Jeffersonville on the news of his brother's passing in 1929, the new bridge would have been a significant new landmark. Perhaps he recalled hearing stories of accidents on the Big Four bridge as a child, and confused them with the new bridge that had been built. However, William Branham repeats that he remembered the vision, and that his mother wrote it down - which means he should have been accurate in retelling the vision. This should raise serious concerns about William Branham's credibility as a prophet, such as: If this vision was fabricated, were any other visions fabricated as well? If this was a false prophecy (claimed to be accurate) are there other false prophecies? If you are interested in further detailed research on this vision, you should go to the Searching for Vindication website. Video Script William Branham tells of a vision that he had as a young boy... And then sometime about a month after that, I was playing marbles out with my little brothers, out in the front yard. And all at once I had a strange feeling come on me. And I stopped and set down aside of a tree. And we were right up on the bank from the Ohio River. And I looked down towards Jeffersonville, and I seen a bridge rise up and go across that, the river, span the river. And I seen sixteen men (I counted them) that dropped off of there and lost their lives on that bridge. I run in real quick and told my mother, and she thought I went to sleep. But they kept it in mind, and twenty-two years from then the Municipal Bridge now (that many of you cross when you cross there) crossed the river at the same place, and sixteen men lost their life building that bridge across the river. It's never failed to be perfectly true. As you see It here in the auditorium, It's been that way all the time. My Life Story April 19, 1959 Los Angeles,CA William Branham related this same story many times and other ministers have repeated it as the gospel truth. The Louisville Municipal Bridge opened to the public as a toll bridge on October 31, 1929. It was renamed the George Rogers Clark Memorial bridge in 1949, but is known locally as the Second Street Bridge. The Municipal Bridge crosses the Ohio River between Jeffersonville, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky. A half mile east is the Big Four railway bridge. Construction on the Big Four Bridge started in 1888. 12 men were drowned while working on a pier foundation and another 4 men died when a wooden beam broke. In late 1893, 41 men fell from the bridge when a truss fell into the river. 20 of these men were rescued while the other 21 perished in the river. This was one of the worst bridge disasters in US history. However, there is no record of anyone being killed in the construction of the Municipal Bridge or of 16 men falling to their death from that bridge. The Big Four Bridge was the ONLY Louisville Bridge with serious accidents during its construction, and these accidents all occurred long before William Branham was born. Not a single person died during the building of the Municipal Bridge. Based on William Branham’s testimony, he had the vision 22 years before the bridge opened, which means he had it before he was born. And William Branham consistently retells this prophecy indicating it was fulfilled exactly as he saw it when, in fact, the event never happened. ...And they wrote it down. And twenty-two years from then it happened just exactly, and sixteen men lost their life. It's never been, out of the thousands of things, but what it's been perfectly right. (From that time - 62-0713) If you have any additional facts relating to the subject of this video information, please contact us. Quotes The following are all of the quotes where William Branham mentions this vision: EXPERIENCES PHOENIX.AZ 48-0302 Here at the municipal bridge. Sister, no doubt you know where the municipal bridge is, don't you, cross from Jeffersonville to Louisville? Twenty-two years, when I was a little boy, just a little bitty lad about five years old, or six years old, when the Angel of the Lord appeared in the bush... You've heard me tell that haven't you, when I was packing water? Well, about two weeks after that, I was playing marbles with my little brother. And I thought I'd got sick, some real funny feeling came on me. And I went and set down by the side of a tree. And I looked down at the river, and there went a bridge, a big, great big bridge going across the river. And I counted sixteen men that fell off of that bridge and drowned. And I went and told mother. And I told her I seen it. And they thought I was crazy or something. They thought I was just at a little nervous hysterical child. And twenty-two years from that time, on the same ground went the municipal bridge across, and sixteen men lost their lives on it. See? Wasn't nothing that... It's--it's God sent it. Your prayers brought it. See? OBEY.THE.VOICE.OF.THE.ANGEL MINNEAPOLIS.MN 50-0713 And about four days after that, it appeared to me and a strange feeling came upon me, as it always does, and I seen the municipal bridge, at Jeffersonville, cross, come up out of the wilderness on the hill where I was standing, and crossed the river. I seen sixteen men fall off of it. They put that down and twenty-two years from that day, the municipal bridge spanned the river at the same place and sixteen men lost their life on it. And just things like that. It's nothing I can do in myself. It's just what He shows me, is all I can speak. Only thing that any true man of God could ever say, but what God would put in his mouth to say. Outside of that, it would totally be a failure. And when It met me, many times, and told many things which I probably get a chance after while, to tell you in one of the meetings. GOD.REVEALING.HIMSELF.TO.HIS.PEOPLE CLEVELAND.OH 50-0813E And my little brother and I, a few days later from that was setting out under the tree. We'd been playing marbles. And I felt a peculiar feeling, like a... Something was standing near me. And all at once, something happened. I set down. And I looked, and I seen coming up out of the river a big bridge, spanned across the river, and sixteen people fell off of it. I went and told them. They said, "Why, you dreamed." I Said, "No, I looked at it. I seen it." Twenty-two years from that time, the big Municipal bridge spanned across the Ohio River, and sixteen men lost their life on it. And it just started like that, and begin... That was before I was ever even a Christian. My people wasn't Christian. Gifts and callings are without repentance. It's a foreordination of God. Then It kept telling things on down. EARLY.SPIRITUAL.EXPERIENCES HAMMOND.IN 52-0713A Then a few days after that, setting... That was my first vision, setting out there under a big silver poplar tree in the front yard, where the tree stands yet today... Standing out there in the front of that place, I seen Something, like yesterday afternoon, I seen Him coming upon me, that I never... I didn't know what it was. In a little bit I moved off, and I looked, and I seen moving up out of those bushes down by the river, and along there came a big bridge, and it spanned across the river. I seen men dropping off of it and losing their lives. And I went in and told mama. She said, "Honey, you went to sleep." I said, "Mama, I was not asleep." I said, "I was setting there. I had a funny feeling, mama." I said, "Oh, I'm scared, mama. What's the matter with me?" She said, "Oh, you're just nervous, honey." I said, "Mama, something... I don't want to feel this way." And it was Something moving. And just... She wrote it down. And twenty-two years from that time, the Municipal Bridge which spans the Ohio River run across at the same place, and the same amount of men dropped off the bridge and lost their lives, just exactly. LIFE.STORY_ OWENSBORO.KY SUNDAY_ 53-1108A So then, I remember about two weeks after that, I was playing marble with my brother, and there I--I felt something strange come over me. I didn't know what was taking place. And I went out, set down just a minute, and I looked, and right before me, I seen something moving. And the waters looked like the river was looking closer to me. And I seen the Municipal bridge that spans the river now, come up and cross the river, and seen the amount of men dropped off, and went in and told my mama. She said, "You had a dream, honey." I said, "No, ma'am. I stood and looked right at it, and I seen what it did." And--and twenty-two years from that very same year, the bridge which spans the Ohio River, and just exactly the same amount of men lost their life. And they just kept on going. Every time, everywhere, just vision after vision. Nobody... DO.YOU.NOW.BELIEVE WEST.PALM.BEACH.FL 53-1206E At the age of just a little bitty boy, I could remember He speaking to me and telling me about a bridge that was going to span the river, how many men would lose their life on that bridge. And they wrote it down to see what it was all about. They thought I was dreaming. I was out in the yard, just something come over me, and I set down. I seen it. And I went and told mother, she said, "You went to sleep, honey." I said, "No, ma'am, I never went to sleep. I stood and watched It come up out of the bushes." And twenty-two years from that time, the Municipal Bridge span across the Ohio River, and the same sixteen men lost their live on it, just like It said. See? And it's always been that way. And Christian friends, to the best of my soul, I say this for God's glory: I have never seen one time but what it was just as perfect, just exactly the way It said it would be. MY.LIFE.STORY ZURICH.SWITZERLAND 55-0626A A little later on, about two weeks later I was playing marbles with my brother, and I felt something come to me. We lived up on a hill, and the river was below us: a wilderness around. And I saw a bridge come up out of the wilderness. And it started across the river. Sixteen men dropped off in--into the water and perished. And I seen a big sign, it said "twenty-two years." I run in and told my mother. Oh, she said, "Son, you're nervous. You went to sleep and you were dreaming." I said, "No. No. I saw it." So they wrote it down on a piece of paper. And twenty-two years from then, the great bridge crossed the river, and twen--sixteen men dropped off of it and--and drowned in the river. Every time, it's perfect. MY.LIFE.STORY LA.CA 59-0419A And then sometime about a month after that, I was playing marbles out with my little brothers, out in the front yard. And all at once I had a strange feeling come on me. And I stopped and set down aside of a tree. And we were right up on the bank from the Ohio River. And I looked down towards Jeffersonville, and I seen a bridge rise up and go across that, the river, span the river. And I seen sixteen men (I counted them) that dropped off of there and lost their lives on that bridge. I run in real quick and told my mother, and she thought I went to sleep. But they kept it in mind, and twenty-two years from then the Municipal Bridge now (that many of you cross when you cross there) crossed the river at the same place, and sixteen men lost their life building that bridge across the river. It's never failed to be perfectly true. As you see It here in the auditorium, It's been that way all the time. THE.REVELATION.THAT.WAS.GIVEN.TO.ME SAN.JUAN.PR 60-0210 Then two--about two weeks from then, I was playing marbles with my brother, and Something come upon me, and I looked down at the river. And I saw a great bridge span the river, and I watched sixteen men drop off of it and lose their lives. When It left me, I ran in to my mother and I told her. "Oh," she said, "honey, you was dreaming." But I wasn't. But she wrote it down. And twenty-two years from that day, the Municipal Bridge spanned the river at the same place, and sixteen men lost their life on it. It just kept coming all the time, like that. THE.UNCERTAIN.SOUND JEFF.IN 60-1218 Just even you take this big bridge down here, when I saw it come twenty-two years before it was put up down there, saw the men lose their lives on it. When they put the bridge across there and spoke of it. My mother wanted to take me to the doctor, thought I was having nervous spasms. And I told her; I said, "I seen a bridge go across, and I counted them men." Twenty-two years after that, the bridge went across, and the same amount of men lost their lives. I think it was sixteen, exactly. Now, I thought, when they put those big girders up there, "My, that bridge will last forever." Oh, they've painted it three or four times, and it's rusting down right now. What is it? The rays in the air burned it up. FROM.THAT.TIME SPOKANE.WA 62-0713 Certain things happened. When I was a little boy He spoke to me, He said, "Don't never smoke or drink, or defile your body. There's a work for you to do when I get--when you get older." It's in the book back there. You may read it. And my mother and them, they thought I was just nervous. And then It went ahead, and two days--three days after that told how that bridge would cross the river just below our place now. Sixteen men would lose their life on it. And they wrote it down. And twenty-two years from then it happened just exactly, and sixteen men lost their life. It's never been, out of the thousands of things, but what it's been perfectly right. See? That's right. See, things happen when you're a child, that impresses. THE.TRIAL TAMPA.FL 64-0419 A week after that, I seen the Municipal Bridge, in a trance, as I called it, seen the Municipal Bridge cross the Ohio River, seen sixteen man lose their life on it. Twenty-two years from that day, the Municipal Bridge crosses the same place, and sixteen man lost their life in it. THE.TRIAL TOPEKA.KS 64-0621 We find out, next day after that, He showed me a bridge crossing the river, spanning it, showed sixteen man drop off of it. I told mama. Sitting against a tree, looked at it. She said, "You went to sleep, honey." I said, "No, I never, mama. I watched it." Exactly seventeen years from that day, the Municipal Bridge at Jeffersonville spanned over to Kentucky, and the seventh... And the sixteen man lost their life on it, just exactly like it said. Ah, so did Mr. Unbeliever has tempted me all along! Reference Allgeier, M.A. (1983). Louisville Municipal Bridge, Pylons, and Administrative Building, Louisville Landmarks Commission. The Encyclopedia of Louisville (1 ed.). 2001. Luhan, Gregory A. (2004). Louisville Guide, Princeton Architectural Press. National Register of Historic Places The Jeffersonville Evening News reported two deaths on its front page on Thursday, June 30, 1929. One death was Edward Branham, William Branham's brother, who died of rheumatism of the heart. The second death was Richard Pilton, the first fatality during the construction of the Bridge, who died when an iron crank he was using struck him in the temple. Navigation Home Our Podcast The List of Problems Life Story Prophecies & Visions Seven Seals Was William Branham Honest? Doctrines Church Ages Jesus Languages Videos Print Resources Help! Facebook Contact Us