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OLDTOWN TOLL BRIDGE

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1937–1938. Greenspring Rd. across the Potomac River

Just beyond the C&O Canal is the Potomac River and a toll bridge providing ready access to Greensprings, West Virginia. It was built by Melvin R. Carpenter, a tie inspector for the B&O Railroad who was motivated by the need to make regular trips into Greensprings that would otherwise require a ferry or a car ride to the nearest bridge 15 miles away. The 200-foot-long, 10-foot-wide bridge is built of steel beams resting on concrete pilings and carrying a roadbed of oak planks custom-made at a local sawmill. A toll booth still collects a fee for use; it is the only privately owned toll bridge in the state.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie
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Citation

Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie, "OLDTOWN TOLL BRIDGE", [Oldtown, Maryland], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MD-01-WM47.

Print Source

Buildings of Maryland, Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2022, 366-367.

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