Old Stone Arch Bridge

This bridge was completed by army engineers sometime between 1834 and 1837 as a part of the Old National Road. The road, between Cumberland, Maryland and Vandalia, Illinois was authorized by the Enabling Act of 1803 and was the nation’s first federally financed highway. The bridge is a prime example of the stone-building art and early American engineering. Stones were precisely cut and fitted together without bond or mortar. Many stone arch bridges were built along the Cumberland Road, but this was the only one still in use at the time of the marker dedication.