 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 SATURDAY_
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 have any evidence of the accident as William Branham describes it, we would appreciate being able to update this article.
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.
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.
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