Casselman River Bridge State Park

Casselman River Bridge State Park. Bicentennial 1813-2013. , Spanning the Casselman River and supporting 200 years of hooves, boots, sleigh runners, and wheels of every type and description, the Casselman River Bridge begins its third century on the National Road in Grantsville, Maryland. It is one of the oldest surviving bridges in the nation., In 1806, the United States Congress commissioned David Shriver Jr., a celebrated Cumberland civil engineer, to locate, plan, and construct the National Road, including the Casselman River Bridge. Shriver personally took charge of the bridge construction that began in 1813. The stone arch is 26 feet wide, 3 feet thick, and from end to end spans 80 feet, designed to accommodate C&O Canal boats should they someday cross the Alleghenies. When it opened to traffic in 1817, the Casselman River Bridge was the largest single span stone arch bridge in America. , Since its construction, many famous personalities have crossed over this bridge including Presidents James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, James Polk, Zachary Taylor, and then-Congressman Abraham Lincoln. In 1953, following the completion of a new bridge and Route 40 nearby, officials closed the Casselman River Bridge to all but pedestrian traffic., In 1957, the State Road Commission acquired several acres west of the bridge. With the assistance of the Department of Forests and Parks, the two agencies developed the park and picnic area you see here today. In 1964, the Secretary of the Interior and the National Park Service declared the bridge a National Historic Landmark. In 1972 and 1993, the State Highway Administration transferred portions of the site to the Department of Natural Resources. The bridge is now the focal point of the four-acre Casselman River Bridge State Park., (Black and white image of Casselman River Bridge) , Photographed by Leo Beachy. Photograph courtesy of the Garrett County Historical Society. , Casselman River Bridge in the early 1900s. , (Black and white image of Harry C. Edwards) , Photograph courtesy of Harry C. Edwards family , (Black and white image of DeCorsey E. Bolden) , Photograph courtesy of the DeCorsey E. Bolden family , Harry C. Edwards and DeCorsey E. Bolden, champions of the Casselman River Bridge. Their leadership in the Maryland House of Delegates helped to twice save the bridge from destruction, Delegate Edwards in the 1950s and Delegate Bolden in the 1970s. , www.dnr.maryland.gov , (Logo for the Maryland Park Service.)