Completed in 1854 as part of the South Side Railroad from Petersburg to Lynchburg, High Bridge was built to carry the line across the Appomattox River east of Farmville. The bridge was 2,400 feet long, ranged from 60 to 125 feet high, and stood on 21 brick piers; the original wood structure included a pedestrian walkway beside the tracks and a wagon bridge below. On April 6 and 7, 1865, the bridges became strategically important to the armies of General Robert E. Lee and General Ulysses S. Grant as they moved westward from Richmond toward Appomattox Court House. On April 6, following the Battle of Sailor’s Creek, a small group of Union infantry and cavalry tried to destroy the bridge but was deterred by Confederate horsemen who arrived there. On the morning of April 7, quick-marching Union troops reached High Bridge as Confederates were setting it on fire after crossing, and by using the lower wagon bridge to continue the pursuit, Grant's men eventually came into contact with Lee's army near Cumberland Church.
