Brown's Creek is crossed by Minnesota's oldest remaining stone arch bridge, a relic of the Point Douglas-St. Louis River Military Road. Stretching from the mouth of the St. Croix River to Lake Superior, the 185-mile road opened the newly formed Minnesota Territory to settlers, provided trade between the first towns, and supported access to shipping ports on the Mississippi River and Lake Superior. Military roads formed the first road system in Minnesota, offering passable routes for transport of passengers, mail, and goods. The Point Douglas-St. Louis River Military Road was one of five military roads in Minnesota built between 1852 and 1858, connecting communities and spurring the growth of new settlements during the state's early history. Local craftsmen Michael Hanly and Frederick Curtis built the limestone bridge in 1863, likely using a wooden centering to support the developing arch. Made of locally quarried limestone, the bridge is 20 feet long and 17 feet wide, and its semi-elliptical arch rises 12 feet from the creek bed. Outcrops of mottled gray dolomitic limestone around Stillwater supplied stone for the bridge and many Stillwater buildings. The stone arch bridge looked much as it does today when Historic American Buildings Survey staff visited it in 1934. A wider wooden bridge replaced the old stone bridge in 1891, and in 1962 the existing County Road 5 bridge of concrete and steel replaced the wooden one. Because of its stone engineering and connection to the historic military road network, the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Photo: McGhiever

Photo: McGhiever

Grant, Minnesota · USA