Jason Smith

About Me 

I became fascinated with bridges when I was five years old, mainly because where I grew up, Jackson County, MN, we had plenty of metal truss bridges to go around. This includes the Petersburg Road Bridge which was located in the south end of town just north of where my grandma used to live. I became fascinated with the different designs and the history of each structure that I started photographing the structures at a young age, 13 to be exact. In addition to that, I also wrote some commentaries on the bridges and conducted some presentations on them, the former of which I still do for this website, as well as Nathan Holth's website. Since a lot of these bridges are disappearing, I have been active in photographing them as long as they are still standing. Furthermore, I have some book projects in the making both big and small dealing with these structures in certain regions, including Iowa (where I have been really active in that area), and in the future, I would like to establish an online magazine comparing the bridges and historic preservation practices between the US and Europe, the latter of which I have been residing since 1999 in Germany.

My occupation is an English teacher on the university level and I have a daughter who might have the same interest as I do in the future, the way we've been travelling around in her first years of life.

Landmarks Photographed 

Jackson Middle School/ Resource Center

Recent Updates 

Jackson Middle School/ Resource Center (Jackson County, Minnesota)
Built in 1938 as an addition to the 1908 High school building; spared demolition in 1981; converted to Resource Center in 1997; Closed in 2006; Demolished in January 2011 to make way for a new building
February 14, 2011: Updated by Jason Smith: Landmark has been foolishly demolished

Jackson Middle School/ Resource Center (Jackson County, Minnesota)
Built in 1938 as an addition to the 1908 High school building; spared demolition in 1981; converted to Resource Center in 1997; Closed in 2006; Demolished in January 2011 to make way for a new building
September 29, 2010: Added