First Bridge Over the Cumberland

First Bridge Over the Cumberland. 1823 Nashville Toll Bridge. , Below, built into the steep bank of the Cumberland River, is a 52-foot-tall stone structure. It is the western abutment of the first bridge over the Cumberland River. Built in 1823 by the Nashville Bridge Company, it was a three-span wooden truss bridge supported by two massive stone piers. The bridge was covered in wood and featured arched entrances and windows along its length to provide light., The bridge operated as a private toll bridge connecting Nashville’s Public Square to the town of Edgefield across the river. Prior to its construction, slow and undependable ferries were the only method of crossing the river. The toll bridge provided a safer and easier means of crossing, and represented Nashville's successful transition from frontier town to a prosperous commercial center. Steamboats delivering goods and people to Nashville’s riverfront soon became too tall to pass under the low bridge, and businessmen demanded its removal in 1851. Today, all that remains is this one stone abutment., [Captions:] , The Nashville Bridge Company used the design of noted bridge engineer Lewis Wernwag's long-span wooden bridge patent shown here. Image from the collections of the South Carolina Historical Society., "an elegant piece of architecture, so useful to the public, and ornamental to our town... a super-structure of elegance and durability" , --The Nashville Whig, January 26, 1824