The Port Deposit Bridge was the earliest bridge crossing of the Susquehanna River

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

 below Columbia, Pennsylvania

Columbia, Pennsylvania

Columbia, once colonial Wright's Ferry, is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 28 miles southeast of Harrisburg on the left bank Susquehanna River across from Wrightsville and York County. Originally, the area may have been called Conejohela Flats, for the many islands and islets in the...

, providing the first reliable link between the northern and southern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The bridge was also the fifth and last of Theodore Burr

Theodore Burr

Theodore Burr was an inventor from Torringford, Connecticut, who was credited with the Burr Arch Truss bridge design and was cousin of vice president Aaron Burr. Theodore Burr came to Oxford, New York in 1792. By 1794, he had built a grist mill , and a dam to power the mill...

's Susquehanna crossings. The wooden covered bridge

Covered bridge

A covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...

 was constructed just north of Port Deposit, Maryland

Port Deposit, Maryland

Port Deposit is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. It is located on the north bank of the Susquehanna River near its discharge into the Chesapeake Bay...

, between 1817 and 1818 and lasted until 1857. It was built and operated by the Susquehanna Bridge and Bank Company.

History

The site for the bridge was surveyed in 1813. The bridge crossed from north of Port Deposit to just below Rock Run stream in Harford County

Harford County, Maryland

Harford County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 244,826. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.-History:...

. The bridge crossed Steel, Roberts and Wood Islands. Construction of the bridge was started in 1817. The bridge was constructed by Theodore Burr, who had just completed work on four Susquehanna bridges in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. The bridge design used his Burr arch truss. "This ultimate achievement of Burr's on the Susquehanna, having in all eighteen 200-foot trussed arch wooden spans, eight between the west shore and a first island, two between that and a second island, and eight more between that and the east shore, and a total length
of 4,170 feet, was to be performed in two years. For the years between 1812 and 1818 Burr's trussed arch had been an increasing
triumph.". The bridge opened in 1818.

On 1 January 1823, friction from an iron shod sleigh caused a fire which burned large portions of the bridge. It was rebuilt and back in operation by 1828 or 1830. The bridge operated until 1854 when a herd of cattle caused two spans to collapse. It remained closed and a large section of the eastern span was destroyed by the spring flood of 1857. It was superseded by the Conowingo Bridge

Conowingo Bridge

Several incarnations of the Conowingo Bridge crossed the Susquehanna River at the original location of Conowingo, Maryland, USA, about two miles upstream of the Conowingo Dam, which replaced it.- History :...

, which reopened in 1859, further upstream.

The ruins of the abutments are still clearly visible from the western shore or from above. The Jersey Toll House, located at the southwestern end of the bridge still exists as part of Susquehanna State Park

Susquehanna State Park (Maryland)

Susquehanna State Park is a state park on the lower Susquehanna River north of Havre de Grace, Maryland. The main park area is on the west bank of the river, but it also manages land on the river islands and east bank....

.

External links

• Drawing of bridge from Susquehanna Bank and Bridge Co. $5 Note
• Port Deposit Bridge was located at 39.6140°N 76.1352°W