Recent Maryland Comments
Post a comment Contact webmasterIt seems the only factual error is the date of 1910; about 32 years before Donald Bailey designed his namesake truss. The rehab date of 1973 apparently is the date the Bailey truss replaced the 1910 bridge.
The bridge is 40 years old, and you've photo documented it. Perhaps it is best to not remove this entry.
....Or did you nominate the bridge itself for removal? They could put in a nice UCEB here. 8^)
As should be plainly obvious from the photo, there is no way the current structure dates to 1910. The locals I talked to believe this bridge replaced a bridge washed out in Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972, and the National Bridge Index never noted the new construction of what was supposed to be a temporary structure. I nominate this for removal.
Sirs;
This bridge was likely replaced in 1904 as that is a date prominent on the bridge molded into the concrete.
Jack
Visited here and used this road many times while visiting my daughter. YOu can't get on the bridge, but they saved it and it has a great plaque explaining.
The Corten Steel Arch bridge is nice in that it mirrors the size, but I did see signs of the rust dripping on every little thing.
I first saw this bridge in about 1970, definitely before Hurricane Agnes in 1972. At that time I was exploring using a fairly detailed county map. I approached from the Anne Arundel County (east) side. Even then, the road bed from the intersection to the bridge was completely overgrown, the paving gone, and a mound of earth blocking the path. At that time, the bridge was lying collapsed in the Patuxent River. Sometime in the middle or early 1960’s it collapsed under the weight of a truck, probably a gravel or sand truck. Sometime, after 1980 I think, the bridge was restored and used for fishing. The deck at the time of the collapse was probably wood planks with macadam cover.
never mind - I realize it's a Pratt pony truss, not a through truss. I'm changing the design description back to what it was.
The Maryland State Archives link that I posted confirms those are Phoenix columns, and that the bridge was likely built by Dean and Westwood around 1890. The Maryland State Archives document describes the bridge as a Pratt through truss, but the Bridgehunter page initially said Pratt pony truss. I cannot tell which one it is, so I changed it to Pratt through truss, since that's how the state describes it. The State Archives document has a lot more interesting history about the bridge and this specific site.
Yes, this bridge is composed of Phoenix columns on the top chord and end posts. It was likely built ca. 1885 by Dean and Westbrook of New York, New York. My reasoning for that is because it is nearly identical to this bridge I documented in New Jersey: http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=newjersey/hamden_river/
Looks like the entire upper chord is composed of Phoenix columns...interesting!
Sure looks like Phoenix columns on the end. This would make this a very old bridge. Pre-1900 I think.
Are those phoenix Columns I spy?
As of 2012 this bridge has been replaced by a modern concrete deck due to the steel truss bridge's lack of shoulders.
The photos on this page are not for the bridge that is described. Instead, the photos were of a viaduct that was used for trains and was located at +39° 40' 13.96", -78° 47' 24.53". The Locust Grove Road bridge was built next to the viaduct featured in the photos. (You can see both the Locust Grove Road Bridge and the viaduct in photo 1.) This viaduct was torn down in (or around?) 2009. This webpage has information about the viaduct featured in the photos, and a photo of the remaining bases: http://korns.org/misc/cumberland_viaducts/viaduct.html
Anyway, from the bit of research I've done, it seems as if multiple bridges are and were known as the Wills Creek Bridge. :)
This bridge is the only privately owned toll bridge in Maryland. A large number of Allegany County residents who are employed at the Pilgrim's Pride plant in Moorefield, West Virginia use this bridge. There has been recent discussion of raising the toll from $0.50 (for most vehicles) to anywhere from $1.00 to $4.00 in order to raise enough money for repairs. Also, monthly $14.00 dollar passes are issued, but may not exist in the future.
Here are some links about the bridge and its toll issues:
I just drove over this bridge on my way to Washington, DC. What spectacular views!
Indeed that had come to mind when I saw this one.
Came across the other one in 2010 and was amazed at portal treatments...guess I just forgot to take the time back then to see what else this county had to offer.
Hello Bridge Hunger! This bridge is located in my home town and the pic is great. Your website is super cool and extremely informative. I've lived in Maryland my whole life and had no idea there were so many bridges in our little state. My folks live near the Cabin John bridge and yours is the best shot of it I've ever seen. Great work!!
Tony,
Don't forget the bridge has a stylistically similar truss companion not too far away either: http://www.bridgehunter.com/md/baltimore-city/200000BC6510010/
I am away from my notes, but I believe the round struts indicate this is one of (two?) bridges built by Gilbert and Smith of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Very unique round struts!
WOW...this one is amazing!
Can't believe I've been cruising around this site for over 5 years now and missed it until now!
Bailey trusses are often considered temporary or semi-permanent crossings and they often use existing substructures. Some NBI entries may have been left at the date for the previous bridge for this reason. Or it may just be a typical case of NBI nonsense that defies explanation.
I question the date you have for this bridge. The current bridge was installed after Hurricane Agnes came through the Region in 1972. The approaches may date back further but this bridge is a standard 'Bailey Bridge' that was used 'en masse' to replace the many bridges lost due to Agnes that year
Hmm. The 1992 NBI has a trio of Bailey Bridges as being constructed in 1975. The more recent NBI databases have earlier dates listed, early 1900s.
http://bridgehunter.com/md/frederick/reels-mill/
http://bridgehunter.com/md/frederick/little-hunting-creek/
And of course this one.
The Leudinghaus Road Bridge in Lewis County, Washington is listed still in the recent NBI as well even though it was wiped out in a flood and replaced with … a Bailey Bridge.
Perhaps the originals were replaced with Baileys and somehow a mix up led to the previous bridges' years being applied as this example shows?
The 1909 construction date listed is incorrect. Bailey trusses were invented during World War II.
I'm not familiar enough with the area to say, but this looks like a harbor rather than a river. It's a nice looking bridge in an under-documented area.
Not absolutely certain. I think you will find that this bridge was part of the Western Maryland Railway, which crossed and recrossed the Potomac River many times between Hancock MD and Cumberland MD. The low grade (original) B&O line followed the West Virginia bank of the Potomac almost all the way to Cumberland.
It's spelled Gallaher with only one G, not two. Named for the family of John Evans Gallaher who settled here in the early 1800s.
Nice present for it's 100th birthday!
Bridge currently closed to traffic. Currently having major rehab work done to it.
Photo of park sign with some history. Titled "A Work Of Art" it reads as follows. "Looking at the remaining iron railings and graceful arch of the Tonoloway Aqueduct, it is easy to see why canal company officials referred to the 11 aqueducts along the canal as "works of art". Built betwen 1835 and 1839, Aqueduct 7 carried the canal across Tonoloway Creek. Time and floods have not been kind to the Tonoloway Aqueduct. Years of carrying water and canal boats took a toll on the sides of the aqueduct, eventually causing it to collapse. Debris carried by flood waters damaged and washed away iron railings. To protect the aqueduct, the National Park Service built steel braces to support the arch and remaining walls."
Another blurb states that "Even in 1863 the Tonoloway Aqueduct suffered from maintenance problems. Leaking water washed away mortar and weakend the masonry."
There is an additional segment relating how an aqueduct actually functions with a diagram.
Webmaster's note: The photo that was here has been incorporated into the main site.
West end of Indigo Tunnel. Tunnel served the Western Maryland Railroad until it ceased to exist, though it operated under differnt names as a result of buyouts/mergers. Bill Schoenadel, local historian and owner of "Bill's Place" tells the following story. "there was an outhouse at each end of the tunnel and a railroad employee man would sit in one until the train passed, then he walked through the tunnel to inspect for rock falls and debris, only to sit in the other outhouse until the next train came from the other way, then to repeat his actions." This tunnel appears to be slightly different than other's I have seen, as it is rough inside with a wooden series of arches, with boards on top of them, then the board spacing becomes farther and farther and the boards lever out on the sides as shutters. Along with the story that Bill tells, I assume that this tunnel had a particular issue with things falling from the top, the board "liner" was intended to hopefully deflect these things and keep them from damaging a train, as the wood does not appear to actually offer any support for the tunnel. According to Bill, the steel gate had been added only a couple of weeks prior to our visit (another is at the other end), and that these had been added to protect a rare species of bats that were found to be living inside the tunnel. The gates allegedly still allow them to come in and out for food. This tunel sits at the bottom of a pretty steep (for a train) hill.
Webmaster's note: The photo that was here has been incorporated into the main site.
photo 1- Looking North-added steel to restrain the aqueduct from falling apart is very evident
photo 2- Looking East through the waterway/trail
photo 3- Looking South through. upper wall missing, steel holding it together, steel under arches have also been added in effort to keep this aqueduct together
photo 4-broader angle of prior shot
photo 5- Looking north through the waterway/trail
photo 6- looking south to lock that immediately preceeded this aqueduct when traveling East along it.
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
photo 7- South/East abutment, East wall missing from years of neglect
photo 8- closer photo of damage to wall
photo 9- East side, wall missing, erosion to arch supports, debris piled against it, close to 200 years old
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
Photo 1- Upper wall missing on East side. Photo looking West
Photo 2- Park sign Dating build
Photo 3- Looking North along the waterway/trail. Do not believe that steel railing was in palce when used as a canal.
Photo 4- Looking North at West side. Steel bracing has been added inside the arches for support
Photo 5- West side of aqueduct
Photo 6- Looking South at West side
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
photo 7- top of aqueduct, East side
photo 8- Steel support repair of East side
photo 9- Looking North through water channel/trail
photo 10- Looking East
photo 11- Detail shot of South end arch/West side. Do not believe that steel rail was in place when canal was in use.
photo 12- South arch to first support. holes in top of arch are large enough to have a bird living/searching for food in them and be completely out of sight, as one flew out during visit.
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
1st photo- Aqueduct as seen downstream from the Antietam Iron Works Bridge
2nd photo- Looking South from waterway/trail
3rd photo- Park date built sign
4th photo- Looking South/West
5th photo- Looking West at North/East abutment
6th photo- Other half of arch in last photo to end first span
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
Added additional photo's in support of original's. Beautiful bridge.
1st photo- Looking North/East
2nd photo- Looking North/East
3rd photo- West side of bridge looking East
4th photo- Looking South. Note the concrete "walls" built at ends of bridge to protect from cars
5th photo- Looking North
6th photo- Antietam Aqueduct as seen from this bridge
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
A paper from 1934 discusses the construction of this bridge and includes historical photos.
http://www.archive.org/details/TheHistoryAndConstructionOfTheHanoverStreetBridgeInBaltimore
Here are some pictures that I took today (28 June 2011) of the Cuba Road Bridge. As you can see it still has the old wood road deck. There is a sign up saying it will be closed for repairs sometime during this week.
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
Beautiful!
Neat pics of this beauty Jodi!
Frederick County has a wonderful collection of historic bridges and is doing a great job of restoring them.
Scheduled for replacement? Is this possible?
Having walked under it and ridden over it, I know it is without reason.
Our work on the Gilpin's to be honored by the Maryland Historical Trust for "exceptional quality of the workmanship" with their annual Project Excellence Award
I set up the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge page for those who would like to add to it. Since, I doubt I wil be in the Washington DC area anytime in the near future.
The only connection to this structure I have is work on another bridge project with a gentleman who was a construction engineer on the new bridge.
Note that the bridge shown in those recent two photos is *NOT* the bridge that was built in 1961 and rehabilitated in 1984. That bridge is gone. It was worn out by years of carrying many thousands more cars per day than it was orignally designed to carry. I remember as far back as the mid-1980s looking down from my car window and seeing through the potholes to the river below.
In the late 1990s, the bridge and a significant chunk of I-95/495 (The Capital Beltway) through northern Virginia was redesigned. A new eastbound span was built. All traffic was shunted onto the new span in 2006 and the old span was demolished (they held an essay contest on "Why I hate Wilson Bridge" to pick the lucky soul who got to push the button on the detonator to drop the span into the river) A new westbound span was constructed which opened in 2008. The old bridge was 3 lanes each way. The new bridges are 5 lanes each way, with an optional 6th future lane which could be HOV commuter or maybe light rail.
See http://www.wilsonbridge.com for all the details.
Reconstruction to begin in May 2011, involving replacement of deck: http://www.explorehoward.com/news/82463/drivers-beware-patapsco-bridge-renovation-expected-stall-traffic/
Scheduled for rehabilitation/restoration in 2012:
I think I saw this bridge listed as a King in the state Bridge Inventory last night too. That may be where the rumor started. In my opinion the HBI is wrong. Wouldn't be the first time I found errors in an HBI.
Ummmmm........did I do that????
I actually entered this information based off of that which I found on the King Bridge site:
http://www.kingbridgeco.com/new_links!.htm
And of course as you can see there, the picture is inconclusive as to an actual builder.
Therefore.......after seeing Daniels recent photos..... I would say indeed that this is NOT a KBC structure and highly likely a WIBCo. product.
OR MAYBE I was just testing you diehard Pontists out there to see just who would catch it!?....hmmmm ;-)
1891 was a very late date for a bowstring truss to have been erected. I was skeptical about the year and the builder, as I have never heard of Youngstown (or Morse for that matter) erecting a bowstring truss. Reading the HAER report on the bridge, the researcher seems confident that YBC was indeed the fabricator......still not sure I'm 100% convinced however.
If this bridge was built by the King Bridge Co. it would be the only example that I personally know of on which they used Keystone Columns. A great find either way.
King Bridge? Don't we mean Wrought Iron Bridge Company?
There appears to be a swing span incorporated in this bridge.
agrees with Anthony.
I think I can speak for the majority here Will when I say that it is fine to make changes to help portray the most accurate information. Much of the bulk data presented on this site has errors and omitions which many of the regular contributors have worked to correct. Bridgehunter is a constantly evolving work in progress.
dude go for it, i was adding information to the bridge based on what i found on a random website about the bridge. No worry about stepping on my toes. Would have answered sooner but been on a retreat with our youth group this weekend.
Being a relatively new "editor" here, I'm not entirely sure of proper protocol -
I'd been putting together a listing for the Gilpin's. I know every inch of this bridge having spent seven months as a team member on its recent restoration, and a bunch of time researching it and its bridgewright.
I don't know JP, and don't want to step on any toes, but when I add information and photographs, I'm going to feel inclined to make some corrections.
What is seen as forum protocol and proper cyber etiquette in doing such?
Nice laced endposts......looks kind of short for a rail span.
need help: came across this bowstring bridge and could not find any information on it. it obviously was relocated here from somewhere else, so where from? who built it? what year is it? etc.
If you look at the rehab date... adding these arches seems to have been more popular in the 1980s and 1990s... earlier preservation efforts. I don't think they are used as often today. That has been my impression.
Another one of those spans that raises the question(s).....
Was adding arches the only way to save this bridge from an otherwise unforeseen fate........ Was this the brain-child of an insensitive and uncaring engineer...... Or was it merely the most affordable option?
I guess it's like the whole "Is the cup half empty or half full" analogy. I have tried to dull my senses a little to the pretense of there being a "right" way to do something, and just attempt to find solace in the sheer existence of the aforementioned span.
.....Now I can go back to reading about Schrödinger's cat ;)
There is no way this was built in 1905, Bailey trusses were a World War II invention. Bailey trusses are still built in the 21st Century, and they are nearly identical to the World War II bridges. The Bailey trusses that are of most interest and have potential National Register eligibility are those that date to the 1940s and 1950s. Some examples from this period may also be World War II surplus, which would give added significance. Sometimes the date will be stamped on the truss members. Otherwise, the only way to ID the date for these bridges is to see how "new" they look.
Both photos taken on 4-24-2008.
Both photos taken 4-24-2008.
First two photos taken 11-6-2005. Third photo taken 4-24-2008.
There are two Poffenberger stone arch bridges here. They are also known as Claggett's Mill Bridge and Claggett's Mill Race Bridge. The shorter bridge is the Claggett's Mill Race Bridge. I believe they are near to each other so the GPS coordinates could be the same. The first two photos attached are the Claggett's Mill Bridge and the third is the Clagget's Mill Race Bridge. All photos taken in 1989. The confusion is understandable.
A little "fun fact" about the man this bridge is named after:
Ambrose Burnside was well known for his misadventures in leadership during the Civil War, but it would be his unique facial hair extensions for which his name is associated..... sort of........
Burnside was flipped around to become side-burns.
No, this is the one you are looking for http://bridgehunter.com/md/washington/WIFH02I3120002S/
During the Antietam battle, is this the famous "Burnside Bridge"?
Ambrose Burnside, a union officer sent several attacks across this bridge. Confederate soldiers shot the union soldiers to shreds as they came across...
The bridge is stored on Baltimore City property leased (at a token rate) for use by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. The bridge did carry streetcars later after its construction, but there are no plans at present for use of the bridge by either the BSM or the City. The span is unarguably historic, but no one has come forth with a feasible (or any?) adaptive reuse program in the past 30+ years that I am aware of.
Demolition pending as of September 2010:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/commuting/bs-md-patapsco-bridge-20100921,0,5853513.story
True, and its members are much heavier than those that would typically be found in a bridge built in 1900. The NBI gives a rehabilitation date of 1932--this is most likely the current bridge's build date.
So yes Matthew.........If I had read your comment in it's entirety, I could have simply agreed with you! (LOL)
The build date given for this span is way off and might reflect an earlier bridge at this location. This riveted, polygonal truss looks 1930's or later.
I'm assuming that this bridge is the correct one for this page--the page had no map, and this is the only pony truss bridge listed on the website for Cecil County, and the only one in the NBI, for that matter. This is another one of those "Hybrid" trusses (thanks to Nathan Holth for the name!) with both Warren (outer ends) and Pratt (center panel) configurations. The bridge appears to be in very good shape and does not look like a typical 1900 bridge--this one looks more like a 1930's era truss bridge.
This bridge is apparently being repaired. Starting August 25 the county opened bidding for a painting project. It is unclear how a painting project will address the apparently poor structural condition of the bridge. I wonder if structural repairs have already been completed as part of a previous contract.
Text From The Bid Letting:
Bid packages are now available for Bid No. 11-16-52635 “Painting of Bridge CE0002 Bell Manor Road over Conowingo Creek”.
The project will consist of blast cleaning, priming and painting of the entire superstructure of a 108 ft one lane Warren truss bridge with metal grid deck, except as noted in the contract document. The bridge is currently closed to traffic and will remain closed until completion of this project.
I think you mean Burkittsville Road. This is the same Burkittsville of the Blair Witch Project movie fame. The town itself is on the other side of Catoctin Mountain.
It's too bad that this bridge didn't make the very lengthy Frederick County rehabilitation list; although there are still a very impressive number of truss bridges here rehabilitated during the otherwise very destructive era of the late '90's for truss bridges in other states and counties. It appears as though Frederick County is the champion and sets a great example of historic bridge preservation for everyone else to follow. I just wish that others would follow suit...
Spectacular Bridge!
So I followed the link that was attached to the earlier comment that showed the photo from 1968 of the Lombard St Bridge. I was confused because it said the location was Gwynns Falls and not Jones Falls. (I should have read on as the article explained how it was moved to Dickeysville to span Gwynns Falls in 1975).
Anyway, I dug into this and found alot of old photographs of all of the bridges that spanned Jones Falls in central Baltimore:
http://www.mdhs.org/Library/fotofind/PP0023lnk.html
but this image in particular shows the Lombard St bridge from Baltimore St:
http://www.mdhs.org/Library/Images/Mellon Images/Z5access/z5-0664.jpg
Jones Falls stream was diverted under the city at some point in time, so the need for bridges between Howard St in the North and Lombard St in the south vanished. I imagine that's why Lombard St lasted until 1975. Many of the other bridges in the gallery look quite similar, and indeed the link you sent said Bollman created 12 bridges for Baltimore. Their similarity makes it harder to say if this is the Lombard St bridge or another one that spanned Jones Falls stream.
James,
Yes that appears to be the bridge minus the pipe.
I knew it looked like a Bollman job!
I do know there were a number of extant cast iron truss bridges that were not listed on BridgeHunter. Some have been added by other users recently, I don't know if all have. I confirmed the locations for a number of them using HAER. If you need help finding or confirming any cast iron bridges in Pennsylvania, just drop me an email because I have been researching them in preparation for a massive photo-documentation project this summer.
I did a little Googling and found this article from 1994:
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1994/2/1994_2_8.shtml
See the list of 71 known cast iron bridges given at the end. Under "Middle Atlantic", I believe this is the seventh bridge:
# 7. Lombard Street Bridge (1877). Streetcar Museum, Baltimore, Md. James Curran, Baltimore Water Dept., and Wendel Bollman. Patapsco Bridge Sc Iron Works, Baltimore, Md., builder.
That led me to this Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombard_Street_Bridge
It states:
Lombard Street Bridge is a historic truss bridge located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is an 88 foot cast iron span consisting of three lines of trusses -- two outer trusses of composite cast and wrought iron in a diagonal Pratt design and a center composite bowstring truss of Pratt-system web. It was designed in 1877 by engineer Wendel Bollman (1814-1884). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The link given in the Wikipedia article doesn't work, but I found it here:
This was one heck of a bridge. It featured a pipe that not only carried a water main, but also served as the upper chord for an interior bowstring truss! However, it doesn't look like that part of the bridge has survived. (This is the correct bridge, right?)
I'm going to go through that list of 71 iron bridges and try to account for all of them if possible.
Maryland may well have another hidden gem in this bridge.
Yes, you did make my day! No one at my website HistoricBridges.org nor www.bridgemapper.com knew this bridge was here.
I have been planning out a trip in this region of the country (centered around SE Pennsylvania) to photo-document historic bridges, and I was unaware of this bridge. I added it to my map!
I sent an email off to Baltimore DOT and I will see if I get any sort of a reply from them.
Anthony is right, as with any cast iron compression member bridge in the USA, you are looking at a bridge probablly dating to the 1860s or 1870s.
My guess is the bridge is located where it is because its DOT property (and the bridge formerly served a city DOT owned facility) and that the museum doesn't have anything to do with it. I could be wrong however.
The top chord and verticals are strikingly similar to the Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge. For all I know it also was a RR bridge originally.
It is indeed a special bridge! Could easily date into the 1860's. I don't know how long they have had it there, but with Maryland's excellent track record with historic bridges I think it will stay until they find a home for it.
Wow! I'm glad, it sounds like I made your day! I had no idea it was even more of an exciting find than finding your average abandoned truss bridge.
As I said in the description, the bridge appears to be on the lot of the Baltimore City Department of Transportation at 2601 Falls Rd. The next building down Falls Rd is the Baltimore Streetcar Museum (notice the tracks in front of the bridge). Perhaps the bridge is an exhibit at the museum?
Incredible!!! This may be the rarest bridge in the state second only to the great Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge. It is a cast iron compression member pony truss. It is likely in storage because it was too rare to destroy but no viable preservation solution at the time it was replaced. Thus, it was placed in storage.
Anyone have any idea why this bridge is there, how long its been there, is it even a bridge, or where it was relocated from?
Wow!......this is a beauty!! Puts me in mind of the ill-fated Bridgeport Bridge. Hard to believe they would have built such an ornate span in the 1920's, looks more like something from the late 1800's.
Warren Rd bridge is located entirely within Baltimore County, but since Loch Raven Reservoir and the Warren Rd bridge are owned by Baltimore City, it is classified as such in the National Bridge Inventory.
A beautiful bridge in a nice area. I like the 'S' curve of the road. The bowstring structure is always fascinating.
This bridge was formerly a B&O bridge, not C&O. On the bridge you can see Amtrak's Capitol limited, running an the formder B&O route Washington to Chicago. 12-30-09
photo attached
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/bal-bridge-brief0812,0,4912056.story states bridge is being closed but preserved.
Photo 7- Canal bed looking north at South Entrance
Photo 8- National Historic Park declaration inside tunnel. These are spaced throughout the tunnel.
Photo 9- Looking South at North Entrance
Photo 10- Looking South at North Entrance-mountain perspective
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
Photo 1- Sign on trial
Photo 2- North Entrance, looking South
Photo 3- Inside North entry looking South
Photo 4- Interior deteriation
Photo 5- South entrance, looking North
Photo 6- Signage. "The Paw Paw Tunnel stands as a monument to abiltiy and daring of the 19th Century Canal builders. By building the mile long cut through the the mountain, including the 3,118' tunnel, the canal avoided six miles of river bends and steep, rocky cliffs. Methodist minister and contactor Lee Montgomery started construction in 1836, with estimates of completion in two years. Labor shortages, financial difficulties,underestimating the cost of the work, and a maze of lawsuits eventually forced Montgomwery into bankruptcy. Work on the Canal stopped. In 1850 the tunnel was finally completed, opening the canal from Georgetown to Cumberland."
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
Photo 7- Looking east
Photo 8- Plaque declaring as a Registered National Historic Landmark
Photo 9- Additional history sign "Serving as agents of the Ohio Company, Christopher Gist and Thomas Cresap, Along with Delaware Indian Nemacolin, created a horse trail that crossed this river, then known as the Little Youghiogheny, in the early 1750's. Within a few years, Genral Edward Braddock and his 2,000 man British Army forded the same "Little Crossings" on their way to a disastrous defeat in Pennsylvania. Meriwether Lewis followed almost 50 years later as he prepared for a legendary trek to the Pacific Ocean. After 1813 Americans were building a "smooth way" through these mountains. The great marvel for travellers on this National Road was a stone bridge spanning the river that came to be know as the Casselman. David Shriver and other engineers built a breathtaking 80 foot arch single span, the longest in America. A flood of wagons, stage coaches, livestock and foot travelers wore the stone bed down by 1830. A new nine inch "macadamized" layer of stone kept the old bridge open for another 120 years."
Of additional note is that the bridge was closed to traffic in 1953.
Photo 10- Looking North/East
Photo 11- Looking North
P
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
Photo 1- Looking West
Photo 2- Signage at East end
Photo 3- Park Information "When built in 1813, this structure was the longest single span stone bridge in America. The high arch ws designed to facilitate river boat traffic on on the proposed C&O Canal. However, due to the emerging railroad industry in the 19th century, the C&O Canal was never extended beyond Cumberland, MD. Restored in 1911, the Casselman Bridge is now listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. It has become a world renowned tourist attraction, a delight to photographers, artists and historians, and is often prominent in photographic and art exhibitions. This bridge is the oldest of three bridges which span the Casselman River at Little Crossings. The three bridges tell the regions story of transportation, settlement and development."
Photo 4- Looking West
Photo 5- Looking West
Photo 6- Looking West
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/md/forum/