The Casselman River Bridge on the National Road in Grantsville, Maryland, is one of the oldest surviving bridges in the nation and began its third century after carrying hooves, boots, sleigh runners, and wheels of every type. In 1806, the United States Congress commissioned David Shriver, Jr., a celebrated Cumberland civil engineer, to locate, plan, and construct the National Road, including the bridge, and Shriver personally took charge of construction beginning in 1813. Its stone arch is 26 feet wide, 3 feet thick, and spans 80 feet from end to end, designed to accommodate C&O Canal boats should they someday cross the Alleghenies. When it opened to traffic in 1817, it was the largest single-span stone arch bridge in America. Since its construction, it has been crossed by Presidents James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, James Polk, Zachary Taylor, and then-Congressman Abraham Lincoln. In 1953, after a new bridge and Route 40 were completed nearby, officials closed it to all but pedestrian traffic. In 1957, the State Road Commission acquired several acres west of the bridge, and with assistance from the Department of Forests and Parks, developed the surrounding park and picnic area. In 1964, the Secretary of the Interior and the National Park Service declared the bridge a National Historic Landmark, and in 1972 and 1993, the State Highway Administration transferred portions of the site to the Department of Natural Resources. The bridge is now the focal point of the four-acre Casselman River Bridge State Park.

Photo: National Park Service, Thomas Stone National Historic Site

Photo: National Park Service, Thomas Stone National Historic Site

Photo: National Park Service, Thomas Stone National Historic Site

Photo: National Park Service, Thomas Stone National Historic Site

Photo: National Park Service, Thomas Stone National Historic Site

Grantsville, Maryland · USA