Page "hobbies" Paragraph 552

The bridge has survived the natural hazards of the elements, war, fire, and floods, as well as injuries incident to heavy traffic, for more than a hundred years.

Twice during the Civil War it was saved from destruction by the opposing armies by the pleas and prayers of a local minister.

It still stands as a monument to the engineering skills of the last century and still serves in the gasoline age to carry heavy traffic on U.S. Route 250 -- the old Beverly and Fairmont Turnpike.

It is one of the very few, if not the only surviving bridge of its type to serve a main artery of the U.S. highway system, thus it is far more than a relic of the horse and buggy days.