Bailey Island Cobwork Bridge | |
 Bailey Island Bridge from Bailey Island, looking toward Orr's Island | |
| Nearest city | Harpswell, ME |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°44′57.8″N69°59′18.6″W / 43.749389°N 69.988500°W |
| NRHP reference No. | 75000093 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 28, 1975 |
The Bailey Island Bridge (also called the Cribstone Bridge) is a historic bridge in the town of Harpswell within Cumberland County in the state of Maine.
For many years, the residents of Bailey Island, Maine, advocated that a bridge be built to connect their island with Orr's Island. [2] The town of Harpswell, Maine, which encompasses both islands, turned down the request. However, when the Maine Legislature drafted a law allowing the state and counties to fund bridge construction, a plan emerged to build such a bridge. A contract was signed in 1926, with construction beginning on the Bailey Island Bridge in 1927 and finishing in 1928. The engineer for the project was Llewelyn N. Edwards, bridge engineer for the Maine State Highway Commission. [2]
Design of the 1,150-foot-long (350 m) bridge was complicated by the tides in the area known as Will's Gut. It was decided to build a cobwork bridge, using granite slabs as cribstones, acquired from local quarries in nearby Yarmouth, Maine. The slabs allowed the tide to ebb and flow freely without increasing tidal current to any great degree. [3]
Some 10,000 tons of granite were used in the project. A concrete road (now part of Route 24) was built on top of the cribstones.
A sidewalk was added in 1951 and guard rails in 1961. The Bailey Island Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975; on July 19, 1984, it was recognized as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The Bailey Island Bridge is reported to be the only granite cribstone bridge in the world. [2] [4]
In 2009 and 2010, the bridge underwent reconstruction to repair cracked or sheared stones. [5] During the repairs, a 1,000-foot-long (300 m) temporary bridge was placed alongside the cribstone bridge so that traffic could continue without disruption. On November 20, 2010, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and parade took place to celebrate the reopening of the bridge. [6] The restored bridge maintains the dimensions of the original, and the replacement stones were obtained from the same quarry in Yarmouth that supplied the original.
The National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the 620-mile (1,000 km) road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main transport path to the West for thousands of settlers. When improved in the 1830s, it became the second U.S. road surfaced with the macadam process pioneered by Scotsman John Loudon McAdam.
Harpswell is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The population was 5,031 at the 2020 census. Harpswell is composed of land contiguous with the rest of Cumberland County, called Harpswell Neck, as well as three large islands connected by bridges: Sebascodegan Island, Orr's Island, and Bailey Island and over 200 smaller islands. Harpswell is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the coast of Maine in the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's chart for Casco Bay marks the dividing line between the bay and the Gulf of Maine as running from Bald Head on Cape Small in Phippsburg west-southwest to Dyer Point in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland and the Port of Portland are on Casco Bay's western edge.
Chebeague Island is located in Casco Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Maine. It was originally used as a fishing ground by Abenaki Native Americans. Also known as Great Chebeague Island, today it is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is located 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Portland, Maine. Chebeague Island is the largest island in Casco Bay that is not connected to the mainland by a bridge. The largest island is Sebascodegan, or "Great Island," which is part of the Town of Harpswell and connected to the mainland via a 100 ft bridge.
The Granite Railway was one of the first railroads in the United States, built to carry granite from Quincy, Massachusetts, to a dock on the Neponset River in Milton. From there boats carried the heavy stone to Charlestown for construction of the Bunker Hill Monument. The Granite Railway is popularly termed the first commercial railroad in the United States, as it was the first chartered railway to evolve into a common carrier without an intervening closure. The last active quarry closed in 1963; in 1985, the Metropolitan District Commission purchased 22 acres (8.9 ha), including Granite Railway Quarry, as the Quincy Quarries Reservation.
Fort Gorges is a former United States military fort built on Hog Island Ledge in Casco Bay, Maine, United States. Built from 1858 to 1864, no battles were fought there and no troops were stationed there. Advancing military technology, including iron clad ships and long range guns, rendered the fort obsolete before it could be used. The fort is now a park, accessible only by boat. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Canton Viaduct is a blind arcade cavity wall in Canton, Massachusetts, built in 1834–35 for the Boston and Providence Railroad.
Bailey Island Library Hall is a historic community building at 2167 Harpswell Island Road, on Bailey Island in Harpswell, Maine. Built in 1911–12, it has been a center of community life on the island since its construction, and is a notable architectural work of the New York City architectural firm Mann & MacNeille. Originally built to house a lending library and social hall, it now only serves the latter function. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 2008.
Tamworth, founded in 1728, is an historical hamlet in Cumberland County, Virginia, United States, centered along Tamworth Road. In addition to farming, a gristmill and broad-crested weir on Muddy Creek comprised the principal economic activity. In addition to the mill, there are several other structures of historical interest dating from the 18th and 19th centuries: the miller's residence; a farmhouse; barns; assorted outbuildings; a post office; and Tamworth Cottage. All of the buildings are privately owned and are shown by appointment only.
Acadia National Park, largely on Mount Desert Island, off the coast of the U.S. state of Maine, was created in part by land and other donations by John D. Rockefeller Jr. Between 1919 and 1931, Rockefeller, who was opposed to the introduction of automobiles on the island, personally oversaw the construction of a network of carriage roads, closed to motorized vehicles, on the eastern half of the island, including sixteen granite bridges and two gatehouses. The major portion of this network now falls within the bounds of the national park, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Harpswell Meetinghouse is a historic colonial meeting house on Maine State Route 123 in Harpswell, Maine. Built in 1757-59 to provide space for both religious services and town meetings, it is a little-altered and well-preserved example of a once-common form, and is the oldest such surviving building in the state of Maine. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968.
The Casselman Bridge is a historic transportation structure on the Casselman River, located immediately east of Grantsville in Garrett County, Maryland, and preserved by the state of Maryland as Casselman River Bridge State Park. The bridge was built in 1813–1814 as part of the National Road. Historic markers posted at each end read:
Erected 1813 by David Shriver Jr.,
Sup't of the "Cumberland Road". This 80 foot span
was the largest stone arch in America
at the time. It was continuously
used from 1813 to 1933.
Bartlett's Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge carrying Clara Barton Road over the French River in Oxford, Massachusetts. Built in 1889, it is a rare example of late 19th-century stone bridge construction in the state. It was originally built to provide improved capacity for vehicles servicing a nearby textile mill complex. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.
The Contoocook Railroad Bridge is a covered bridge on the former Contoocook Valley Railroad line spanning the Contoocook River in the center of the village of Contoocook, New Hampshire, United States. It is referred to in the National Register of Historic Places as the Hopkinton Railroad Covered Bridge, for the town of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, in which the village of Contoocook is located.
The Stone House is an historic house located on Burnham Road in Bridgton, Maine, United States. Built 1828–1830, it is a rare example in Maine of a Cape style house built out of stone in the English masonry style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
Yarmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, twelve miles north of the state's largest city, Portland. When originally settled in 1636, as North Yarmouth, it was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and remained part of its subsequent incarnations for 213 years. In 1849, twenty-nine years after Maine's admittance to the Union as the twenty-third state, it was incorporated as the Town of Yarmouth.
The New Portland Wire Bridge is a historic suspension bridge in New Portland, Maine. The bridge carries Wire Bridge Road across the Carrabassett River a short way north of the village center. Built in the mid-19th century, it is one of four 19th-century suspension bridges in the state. It is one lane wide, and has a weight limit of 3 tons. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and was designated as a Maine Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1990.
The Great Chebeague Golf Club is a country club at 16 Stone Wharf Road on Chebeague Island, Maine. It has a nine-hole golf course on more than 28 acres (11 ha) on the north side of the island. Its clubhouse is a repurposed circa 1807 residence, which is probably one of the oldest buildings used for that purpose in the nation. The club was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Songo Lock is the last surviving lock of the Cumberland and Oxford Canal, a 19th-century canal in southern Maine, United States. The lock is located on the Songo River, just above its confluence with the Crooked River at the northern end of Sebago Lake State Park in the town of Naples. The lock, built in 1830, is now used primarily during the summer months by pleasure craft. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and designated as a Maine Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2001.
Proposals were made many times in the 18th and 19th centuries to construct a bridge.
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