Tilghman Island Bridge, Spanning Knapp's Narrows, Tilghman, Talbot County, MD

Significance: The drawbridge spanning the Knapps Narrows Channel between the mainland and Tilghman Island, Maryland, is significant as a unique engineering type and for its historical and aesthetic connections to Tilghman Island. The bridge, which is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, has been a landmark in the region and should be preserved and interpreted. Constructed in 1934, it is Maryland's only overhead counterweight bascule span and one of only fifteen moveable bridges throughout the state road network. This type of bridge a heel trunion rolling lift bridge with a counterweight suspended above the roadway was constructed at the Knapps Narrows site because of its ease and speed of operation. The bridge opened approximately 12,000 times a year, more often than most East Coast bridges. In 1995 it was determined that the Tilghman Island bridge would be replaced with a new structure. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, which for thirty years has served as the leading nonprofit educational institution responsible for preserving the heritage and artifacts of the Chesapeake Bay, moved the bridge to its campus in St. Michael's and is making it the keystone of the Museum's new entrance road.
Survey number: HAER MD-108
Building/structure dates: 1934 Initial Construction