Existing comment:
The Historic National Road: The Road That Built the Nation:
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 process 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 lead to a new bridge. |