Old Town Bridge (Franklin, Tennessee)
Encyclopedia
The Old Town Bridge in Franklin, Tennessee
was a "frame bridge across Brown Creek near its junction with the Big Harpeth River." It was built by U.S. soldiers in 1801. It carried the Harpeth River
branch of the Natchez Trace
over Brown's Creek. The bridge
was rebuilt several times subsequently, but was dismantled some time before 1988. Only the limestone abutment
s remained when the site was surveyed in 1988.
The bridge is "one of the oldest remaining man-made bridges in Tennessee". A photograph of the bridge is available which shows the "structure consisted of massive masonry abutments with a short pole bridge suspended between them. Pole bridges were probably the most common type of bridge erected in frontier days and are still used today for simple county bridges. These bridges consist merely of poles (trees or logs) extending from one abutment to another with a deck of saplings or planks laid across these poles. Obviously these could be quite primitive with the ground or a natural feature such as a rock shelf serving as the abutments, but they could only be used for short spans. Some pole bridges used log cribs filled with rock and dirt as abutments."
This is considered to be the only site on the Natchez Trace in Williamson County, Tennessee
, that retains historic integrity.
It is located about 300 yards from Thomas Brown House
, which is also NRHP-listed, and near a plaque to Old Town, an Indian village and mounds site.
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
was a "frame bridge across Brown Creek near its junction with the Big Harpeth River." It was built by U.S. soldiers in 1801. It carried the Harpeth River
Harpeth River
The Harpeth River, long, is one of the major streams of north-central Middle Tennessee and one of the major tributaries of the Cumberland River...
branch of the Natchez Trace
Natchez Trace
The Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historical path that extends roughly from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers...
over Brown's Creek. The bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
was rebuilt several times subsequently, but was dismantled some time before 1988. Only the limestone abutment
Abutment
An abutment is, generally, the point where two structures or objects meet. This word comes from the verb abut, which means adjoin or having common boundary. An abutment is an engineering term that describes a structure located at the ends of a bridge, where the bridge slab adjoins the approaching...
s remained when the site was surveyed in 1988.
The bridge is "one of the oldest remaining man-made bridges in Tennessee". A photograph of the bridge is available which shows the "structure consisted of massive masonry abutments with a short pole bridge suspended between them. Pole bridges were probably the most common type of bridge erected in frontier days and are still used today for simple county bridges. These bridges consist merely of poles (trees or logs) extending from one abutment to another with a deck of saplings or planks laid across these poles. Obviously these could be quite primitive with the ground or a natural feature such as a rock shelf serving as the abutments, but they could only be used for short spans. Some pole bridges used log cribs filled with rock and dirt as abutments."
This is considered to be the only site on the Natchez Trace in Williamson County, Tennessee
Williamson County, Tennessee
Williamson County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010 US Census, the population was 183,182. The County's seat is Franklin, and it is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is named after Hugh Williamson, a...
, that retains historic integrity.
It is located about 300 yards from Thomas Brown House
Thomas Brown House (Franklin, Tennessee)
Old Town, also known as the Thomas Brown House, is a house in Franklin, Tennessee at Old Town that was built by Thomas Brown some time between 1842 and 1854. It is a two-story frame structure built on an "I-House" plan, an example of vernacular architecture showing Greek Revival influences...
, which is also NRHP-listed, and near a plaque to Old Town, an Indian village and mounds site.