Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 90, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 July 1903 — ROMANCE OF CABIN JOHN BRIDGE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ROMANCE OF CABIN JOHN BRIDGE

Most Unique Structure in Engineering History, Is Linked With the Annals of the Country

Jiarly In the eighteenth century a pilgrim appeared jp what is now known as t Montgomery County, Maryland. He built for himself a hut on the margin of a creek which empties Into the Potomac river, seven miles above came and went; thV„tall, lithe figure of the hermit bowed with years, and his shaggy dark locks turned gray. During these years he had been a hunter and fisher, his only clothing the skins of beasts, and two bunting dogs his only companions. He sought no intercourse with the few human beings who, straying from the much-traveled “river road,” occasionally drifted into his lonely glen; but, to the kindly disposed and the curious, his manners were ever those of a gentleman. He had a strong, beautiful voice, In which he sang sweet but sad verses of his own composition, accompanying himself on a banjo, or mandolin, constructed of rude materials by his own hands. Toward the close of the last century he disappeared. The hermit had been known on the Potomac as “John of the Cabin,” and the little stream by which stood his tiny home Is still called “Cabin John Creek.” The ravine through which it flows Is now spanned by a bridge which for over forty years has figured in our national history, and bears the added distinction of being the longest single arch stone bridge in the world. Work of Jefferson Davis. Early in Pierce’s administration Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War, directed Capt. Montgomery C. Meigs, United States Corps of Engineers, to span the ravine and the creek wlfh a conduit bridge, to convey to the rapidly growing city of Washington its water supply, from the reservoir at Great Falls, sixteen niiles above the city. In November, 1852, Capt. Meigs had, begun the work of designing and constructing the Potomac aqueduct. This, together with the duties of superintending the building of the new wings of the general postofflee, and the completion of Fort Madison, at Annapolis, occupied his time so fully that work on the bridge was not begun until 1857. » It was well under way when, in July. 1860, he was detailed to duty at Fort Jefferson, Tortugas, Florida. The dimensions of Cabin John bridge nre as follows: Feet. Length of bridge, including abutments ' ‘ ~. 450 Height above bottom of ravine..... 105 Length of span 220

Rise of span. 57.26 Width of span 20.4 There are 11,914 cubic yards of masonry in the bridge, and-its entire co&i was $254,000. Some Historic Erasures. Captain, later General, Meigs was very proud of this engineering feat, and always jealously regarded the work as being entirely his own. The erasures on one of the tablets of the bridge bear witness to his wrath when, on returning from Tortugas, he discovered that Capt. Henry W. Benham and Lieut. J. St. G. Morton, who had charge of the work during his absence, had caused their names to be inscribed on the bridge as chief engineers of construction. In addition to removing these names Capt. Meigs was successful in having Capt. Benham ordered to duty at Tortugas. It had been Capt. Meigs’ intention, however, to have inscribed beneath his own the name of Mr. Rives, and the letters had already been traced in red chalk or paint when he received the news of Mr. Rives’ resignation and enlistment in the Confederate army. “No rebel’s name shall Appear on jfiy bridge,” sdld Capt. Meigs. The stone cutters’ orders were countermanded, the red letters disappeared, and in their place were cut the words, “Esto Perpetua,” which Capt. Meigs intended" should express the hope that the bridge would outlast the memory of the youth who had deserted it. Mr. Rives, now nearly 70 years of age, resides at “Castle Hill,” his fine old estate, near Charlottesville, Va. He was superintendent of construction of the Panama Railroad and is still prominently connected with the Richmond and Danville Railroad. He has three beautiful daughters, one of whom is known in literary circles as Amelle Rives and in society as the Princess Treubetzkoi. ** Another and still more widely known erasure was attributed, until recent years, to Gen. Meigs. This was the obliteration. In June, 1862, of the name of Jefferson Davis from the largest tablet of the bridge. The tablet was originally inscribed as follows:

T T T T T T » esse WASHINGTON AQUEDUCT, Begun A. D. 1853. Franklin Pierce, President of the United States* Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War. Building A. D. 1861. President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Secretary of War, Simon Cameron.

WORLD'S LARGEST SINGLE SPAN STONE ARCH.