Fox Creek S Bridge
Fox Creek S Bridge | |
 Brick-paved deck and approach to the Fox Creek S Bridge | |
  Location within Ohio  Location within the United States | |
| Nearest city | New Concord, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°59′34″N 81°44′47″W / 39.992891°N 81.746264°W |
| Built | 1828 |
| Architect | Benjamin Latrobe |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001513 |
| Added to NRHP | April 23, 1973 |
The Fox Creek S Bridge, historically listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "S" Bridge II, is a historic stone S bridge near New Concord, Ohio, in Muskingum County. Built in 1828 as part of the National Road, it is one of the surviving examples of the distinctive S-shaped bridges constructed along the road in eastern Ohio.[1][2]
The bridge formerly carried the National Road, later associated with U.S. Route 40, across Fox Creek. Its curved approaches give the structure its characteristic S-shaped alignment. The bridge was bypassed by modern highway construction and is preserved as a historic structure.[2]
History
[edit]The bridge was constructed in 1828 during the development of the National Road through eastern Ohio.[2] The National Road was the first major federally funded highway in the United States and played an important role in westward travel and commerce during the nineteenth century.[3]
S bridges were used on portions of the National Road where the roadway approached a stream at an angle. Rather than constructing a masonry arch diagonally across the watercourse, builders could place the principal span more nearly perpendicular to the stream and curve the roadway approaches on either side. Viewed from above, the resulting alignment resembled the letter S.[4]
The Fox Creek bridge was built of stone and retains a brick-paved roadway associated with later improvements to the National Road.[2] During the early twentieth century, the National Road was improved to accommodate automobile and military traffic. The Fox Creek S Bridge was the final section of the road in the area to be paved with brick, with the work completed in 1919.[4]
The bridge ceased carrying through traffic around 1940 as the old alignment of the National Road was bypassed.[2] Its removal from the main highway helped preserve the nineteenth-century structure while many other S bridges were lost during later highway improvements.[4]
Design
[edit]The Fox Creek S Bridge is a masonry arch bridge constructed principally of sandstone.[2] Its defining feature is the reverse-curved roadway alignment from which S bridges take their name. The curves allowed the road to approach the stream at an angle while permitting the masonry arch itself to cross the watercourse more directly.[4]
The surviving brick roadway and stone masonry illustrate construction techniques associated with the early National Road. The structure is an example of the stone arch bridges built during the road's expansion through eastern Ohio in the late 1820s.[2]
Preservation
[edit]The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 23, 1973, under the name "S" Bridge II. Its National Register reference number is 73001513.[1] The listing recognizes its significance in engineering, commerce and transportation during the period from 1825 to 1849.[1]
The Ohio Department of Transportation rehabilitated the bridge in 1990.[2] It is no longer used for through vehicular traffic, allowing the historic bridge and a portion of the former National Road alignment to be preserved.[2]
The bridge is one of a small number of surviving S bridges associated with the National Road in eastern Ohio. Other surviving examples are located elsewhere along the historic road in Ohio and Pennsylvania.[4]
National Road significance
[edit]The National Road was authorized by the federal government in the early nineteenth century to provide an improved transportation route westward from Cumberland, Maryland. Its construction through Ohio encouraged settlement, commerce and travel and established a transportation corridor later followed in large part by U.S. Route 40.[2]
Stone S bridges became a distinctive feature of the National Road in eastern Ohio. Most were eventually demolished or replaced as highway standards changed, leaving the Fox Creek bridge as a surviving example of the road's early engineering.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 ""S" Bridge II". National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Taylor, David L. "S-Bridge". SAH Archipedia. Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
- ↑ Pohlen, Jerome (May 1, 2004). Oddball Ohio: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places. Chicago Review Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-56976-234-9.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "National Road in Ohio". Touring Ohio. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
External links
[edit]
Media related to S Bridge II at Wikimedia Commons- S-Bridge at SAH Archipedia
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Gallery
[edit]
Fox Creek viewed from the bridge
Brick-paved bridge deck
Entrance to the brick-paved roadway
Eastern approach and stone parapet
Memorial bench at Fox Creek S Bridge Park
Ohio Historical Marker beside the bridge
- Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio
- Buildings and structures in Muskingum County, Ohio
- National Register of Historic Places in Muskingum County, Ohio
- Transportation in Muskingum County, Ohio
- Bridges completed in 1828
- S bridges
- Stone arch bridges in the United States
- National Road