Bridging Brown's Creek

Bridging Brown's Creek. . , Look toward the creek and you'll see Minnesota's oldest remaining stone arch bridge, a relic of the Point Douglas-St. Louis River Military Road. Stretching from the mouth of the St. Croix River to Lake Superior, the 185-mile road opened the newly formed Minnesota Territory to settlers, provided trade between the first towns, and supported access to shipping ports on the Mississippi River and Lake Superior., Rock Solid Engineering , If you were to build an arch bridge, how would you begin? When local craftsmen Michael Hanly and Frederick Curtis built the bridge in 1863, they likely used a wooden structure called a centering to support the developing bridge., Made of locally quarried limestone, the bridge stretches 20 feet long and 17 feet wide, and the semi-eliptical arch rises 12 feet from the creek bed. Because of its beautiful stone engineering and connection to the historic military road network, the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975., Military roads formed the first road system in Minnesota. They offered passable routes for transport of passengers, mail and goods., Point Douglas-St. Louis River Military Road , The Point Douglas-St. Louis Military Road was one of five military roads in Minnesota built between 1852 and 1858. The roads connected communities and spurred the growth of new settlements during the state's early history. Today, few traces of the road remain, but modern roads, such as Highway 95, closely follow some of the old routes., The stone arch bridge looked much as it does today when Historic American Buildings Survey staff visited it in 1934. A wider wooden bridge, seen in the background, replaced the old stone bridge in 1891. In 1962, the existing County Road 5 bridge, made of concrete and steel, replaced the wooden one., Outcrops of mottled gray dolomitic limestone dot the landscape around Stillwater. Several quarries once operated in the area and supplied the stone for this bridge and many Stillwater buildings., Try It: , Rub your hand across the chunk of dolomitic limestone. Most limestone is made of tiny exoskeleton fragments from ancient marine organisms, such as coral and mollusks, which give the rock a rough, gritty texture., For your safety and to protect the unstable bridge, please view it from the trail. The bridge is privately owned and access is not permitted.