This was a toll bridge operated by Napoleon Blanton (evidently known sometimes as "Bony Blanton" due to his appearance) over the Wakarusa River, south of Lawrence. The bridge was built in 1854 and the business was quite profitable. This 1857 map shows its location.

Although he had been born in Missouri he was not a pro-slavery man and served as a captain on the Union side in the Civil War. Quantrill's Raiders burned the bridge in 1863 as part of their attack on Lawrence. Blanton died when struck by an automobile in 1913 and is buried in Maple Grove Cemetery in Wichita.