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The year 1919 was notably different from 2025 in many ways.

For one, rooster fighting, or “cock fighting” was not only legal, but a common and celebrated past-time.

For another, America’s highway system was still being constructed from scratch, not just repaved. Bridges often didn’t exist, and ferries were commonly used at many major waterway crossings, as was the case with the Moscow Ferry across the Tombigbee, connecting Marengo and Sumter counties.

It was the last waterway without a bridge along the newly constructed Dixie Overland Highway that stretched from Savannah, Georgia, to San Diego, California.

In response, the Demopolis Road Committee was formed by Marengo and Sumter county residents to raise half of the funds needed to build the bridge. The other half of funds would come from the State of Alabama and Federal Funds.

Percy Coleman, president of the Dixie Overland Highway Association and the Demopolis Chamber of Commerce, obtained the services of a famous auctioneer in the area, Frank Inge Derby Sr. from Sumter County. Mr. Derby had a history of unique fundraisers.

Derby came up with the slogan “Bridge the Bigbee with Cocks.” Derby was from Sumter County, which obtained its name from the Revolutionary War hero, General Thomas Sumter also called the “Gamecock,” a reference to roosters used in fights.

To enter the fundraising event, attendees were required to purchase and wear a rooster button which cost $2 each. An image of the mascot rooster and Derby’s slogan were on the button. There were about 11,000 buttons sold at the 1919 auction.

Derby knew they needed rooster donations from famous people, politicians, actors, and everyday people to get this project to work. Donations were obtained from President Woodrow Wilson, the Prime Minister of England, the Prime Minister of France, and the Prime Minister of Italy. 

In addition, rooster entries were received from Mary Pickford, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, William McAdoo, Helen Keller, Vice President Thomas R. Marshall (who sent a ten pound white Plymouth Rock), Field Marshall Ferdinand Foch, Field Marshall Douglas Haig, and General John J. Pershing.

Helen Keller felt it would be unladylike to donate a rooster, so she donated a little Blue Hen, which laid an egg during the auction. The egg sold for $15,000 to Greene County. President Woodrow Wilson’s rooster sold for $55,000, the highest bid of the auction.

When the sale was completed, between $200,000 and $300,000 was raised on paper but only $65,000 was collected. After $20,000 in expenses was deducted, the total earned was only $45,000 (Roughly equivalent to $826,000 in 2025). This fell short of the $75,000 goal, which meant Mr. Derby got no money for all his hard work.

In 1922 the Alabama Highway Department agreed to pay the balance for building a new bridge with the stipulation that the bridge be named “The Memorial Bridge,” in honor of the World War I veterans. The bridge opened on May 15, 1925. Locals always called it “the Rooster Bridge,” however, and on Frank Derby’s 78th birthday in 1959, the bridge was officially renamed “The Rooster Bridge.”

Frank Derby’s name, along with the names of 88 donors appeared on a marker at the original site one mile downstream of the modern Hwy 80 bridge. The marker now resides next to Demopolis City Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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