Stone Arch at Howard, Ohio

The arch at Howard, built in 1874, carries U.S. Route 36 over the old Cleveland, Mount Vernon, and Delaware Railroad bed, now part of the Kokosing Gap Trail. Samuel Israel, Sr. (1810-1889) sold the right to quarry nearby stone for the arch to Robert S. McKay (1813-1885) and his son William (1845-1892). R.S. McKay and Son employed local stone masons to build the arch under contract with the railroad. The arch bears masons’ marks, signatures placed on dressed stones to identify each worker’s work. A center stone in the arch’s ceiling is marked "Mc," believed to be the mark of McKay, the arch’s contractor. Under the same contract, the McKays also completed masonry structures for the railroad between Millersburg and Bangs, Ohio.

Howard, Ohio · United States