National Road, Wilson Bridge, Spanning Conococheague Creek at Route 40 (Old), Hagerstown, Washington County, MD

Significance: Wilson Bridge was built in 1819 by Silas Harry as part of an improvement of feeder roads leading to the National Road which began in Cumberland, Maryland and ended in Vandalia, Illinois. Its five stone arches span 215 feet. The bridge was one of few multiple-arch structures on the National Road and was considered one of the finest. The contract price for construction was $9,100 and it took approximately 18 months to complete. Bypassed in 1937 by a new alignment of the road and construction of a three span concrete arch, the bridge continued in local service till 1972. In March 1982, half of the center and an adjacent arch to the west collapsed on the upstream side. The bridge was scheduled for demolition for safety reasons and for the prohibitive costs of rehabilitation estimated to be between $300,000 and $400,000. Following an expression of public concern, the decision was made by the county to rehabilitate the bridge for pedestrian and park purposes.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-26

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N755

Survey number: HAER MD-41

pedestrian bridges vehicular bridges stone bridges arch bridges hagerstown historic american engineering record photo national road wilson bridge conococheague creek washington county maryland architectural diagrams engineering diagrams bridge library of congress

1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

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