Van Metre Ford Stone Bridge | |
Location | East of Martinsburg across Opequon Creek on Golf Course Road, Martinsburg, West Virginia |
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Coordinates | 39°26′42″N77°55′40″W / 39.44500°N 77.92778°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1832 |
Architect | Silas Harry |
Architectural style | Stone Arch |
NRHP reference No. | 77001373 [1] |
Added to NRHP | August 22, 1977 |
Van Metre Ford Stone Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge located near Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia. Built by Pennsylvania builder Silas Harry, it was built in 1832, and is a three span bridge crossing Opequon Creek. It is 132 feet long and constructed of ashlar limestone. The center span measures 32 feet and the two side spans are each 29.5 feet long. [2] [3]
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. [1] A historic marker at the bridge says:
Named for the property owners this stone bridge built in 1832 across Opequon Creek was major improvement for travellers on Warm Springs Road connecting Alexandria and Bath Va., site of famous mineral waters. The Berkeley County Court established a commission to study and contract for construction of bridge. Silas Harry erected at local expense 165 foot bridge at reported cost of $3,700.
The bridge was replaced by a modern, two-lane bridge in 2016. The historic stone bridge remains as a pedestrian bridge. [4]
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.
Bunker Hill is an unincorporated community in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, located in the lower Shenandoah Valley on Winchester Pike at its junction with County Route 26 south of Martinsburg. It is the site of the confluence of Torytown Run and Mill Creek, a tributary of Opequon Creek which flows into Winchester, Virginia. According to the 2000 census, the Bunker Hill community has a population of 5,319.
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Wilson's Bridge is a bridge near Hagerstown, Washington County, Maryland, United States. It originally carried the Hagerstown and Conococheague Turnpike, the National Road, across Conococheague Creek 7 miles (11 km) west of Hagerstown. The five-arched structure, the longest of the county's stone bridges, is 210 feet (64 m) in length and is constructed of coursed local limestone. The bridge was erected in 1819 by Silas Harry, who had built similar bridges in Pennsylvania. The bridge was closed in June 1972 when it was damaged by floods which occurred during Tropical Storm Agnes.
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Opequon Golf Club, also known as the Stonebridge Golf Club and Martinsburg Golf Club, is a historic country club clubhouse located at Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia. The clubhouse was built in 1922, and is a one-story, Adirondack Lodge Style stone building with a wraparound porch on the north and west sides. It has a steep gable roof with a chimney at the west end. The porches have hip roofs and feature exposed rafter ends and stone columns. It sits on a raised basement. The building was added to on the east end in 1955. West Virginia Senator Charles James Faulkner was a founding member and served as first president of the Opequon Golf Club.
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