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Jug Bridge
An engineering marvel for early America
In 1800, travelers expected to ford rivers or use ferries that were slow and often risky in bad weather. The Baltimore and Frederick-Town Turnpike Company, building the first leg of the National Road in 1805, set out to revolutionize American roads. One of the results was an amazing five-arch stone bridge across the Monocacy River.
Leonard Harbaugh built the bridge in 1808 for a cost of $55,000. Mr. Harbaugh's signature was a distinctive stone "demijohn" placed on the bridge's east end, giving the span its name the "Jug Bridge." A demijohn was a popular bulbous, thin-necked bottle that often held whiskey. Rumors persist that a real jug of whiskey was planted inside the stone version. The Jug Bridge served faithfully well into the automobile era, but a collapse in 1942 led to a new bridge.
Marquis de Lafayette
America's hero, Frenchman Marquis de Lafayette, crossed the Jug Bridge in December, 1824, entering Frederick on his triumphal U.S. tour fifty years after the Revolutionary War. |