Dale Neely Bridge
This card took me a couple of hours to sort out. I first learned that this bridge, over Watauga Lake, has been known as Butler Memorial Bridge since before 1960 (the earliest topo map I could find). However, when the picture of this bridge was taken, in 1949 probably* the bridge was called the Dale Neely Bridge, named for the Dale Neely Branch near its southern abutment. Note that the card refers to it as “Dale-Neely”, as if it were named for two people. That’s not uncommon. Asheville Post Card Company called the library in Johnson City the “Mayne-Williams” library.
Watauga Dam was completed in 1948 and this bridge was constructed in 1948. “Dale Neely” was either a provisional name, or possibly the name of the lower bridge that this one replaced, which was later quietly brushed aside to provide a memorial for the town of Butler, lo, these many years beneath the waters of the lake. Everything you would ever want to know about this bridge is here.
*The card was printed by Curt Teich in Chicago. Its inventory number is OC-H449. “OC” indicates 1950 as the year of its printing.