Many Boonville residents feel tearing down the bridge means tearing away a part of their history.

When the historic Hotel Frederick re-opened after renovations last May, manager Parris Johnson showed her guests another historic Boonville landmark.

"When I show people their rooms, the first thing I show them is the beautiful view of the Katy Trail Bridge," said Johnson. But a recent court ruling may leave her guests with no view of the historic bridge.

In the ongoing case between Attorney General Jay Nixon and the Department of Natural Resources, the Court of Appeals ruled that Union Pacific, not Missouri owns the bridge.

"Union Pacific offered my presidents the bridge for one dollar and they turned it down," said Doyle Childers, director of Department of Natural Resources. Childers defends his department's decision not to buy the bridge because it would have cost taxpayers millions in renovations and upkeep. Plus the bridge has nothing to do with the Katy Trail.

But Parris Johnson believes losing the bridge will cost citizens more.

"The people in this country need to learn how to hold on to things. We get rid of everything, and there are somethings, like the bridge, that shouldn't be let go," explained Johnson.

And that means losing not only a part of Boonville's past, but a part of its future.

Attorney General Jay Nixon now plans to take the case of the bridge to the Missouri Supreme Court.