Old Alton Bridge ("Goatman's Bridge")

Old Alton Bridge is an iron truss bridge constructed in 1884 by the King Iron Bridge Manufacturing Company that once carried horses and later automobiles across Hickory Creek near the abandoned community of Alton. The bridge—situated just south of Denton and adjacent to Copper Canyon—retains historical interest as a 19th-century transportation structure and is regularly listed in local tourist and heritage guides. In popular media and regional tourism sources the bridge is commonly referred to as "Goatman's Bridge" and is the subject of multiple ghostlore summaries. Secondary sources and encyclopedia entries describe the site as associated with ghost stories featuring a vengeful ghost and a folkloric "Goatman" figure. The supplied materials do not include primary eyewitness accounts, dates of specific sightings, or detailed, corroborated descriptions of particular paranormal incidents; instead they record the bridge's persistent reputation in local and online legend and its circulation in popular articles about hauntings. Culturally, Old Alton Bridge functions as both a local historic landmark—tied to the former community of Alton and 19th-century county history—and a focal point for circulating supernatural narratives in Texas popular culture. Tourism and travel pages identify it as a place to visit in Denton County and recount the Goatman association, demonstrating the legend's reach beyond strictly local oral tradition into wider popular circulation.