We recently found three stone arch culverts in the town of Latham, Butler County, Kansas. Though just culverts, these structures are significant: Newspaper evidence suggests that these may be the oldest stone arch bridges in Butler County. Furthermore, one of them also ranks as arguably the widest stone arch bridge we have yet seen in the area.
The Young Street Culvert
The Young Street culvert was the first stone bridge we found in Latham.
As can be seen, some arch stones have been knocked off; this is true on both sides of the culvert. That said, the middle road-carrying section of this wide culvert appears to be quite structurally sound.
Butler’s Wide Stone Bridge
While in Latham, we found another stone arch culvert. Having found the Young Street culvert, we followed the ditch it spanned, and were pleasantly surprised to find this enormous structure still carrying the very wide two-lane blacktop SE 200th Street/Blaine Street right in the middle of the (relatively) busiest section of town. One end of the culvert is located near Latham’s current post office.
This culvert is obscured by the concrete extensions on both sides provided primarily for the sidewalks. Even without the extensions, the stone arch section is wide. Furthermore, there is distinct evidence within the culvert that shows that the arch has been widened on at least one occasion.
The culvert is very long, extending most of the way under a very wide street. Though obscure, it is a significant find.
The Other Blaine Street Culvert
Another gem of a stone arch bridge is also located on Blaine/200th Street, on the west side of town. Right next to the Blaine/Hickory intersection, this stone arch bridge is readily seen from the sidewalk.
The culvert has been widened on one side with a concrete structure. Though some of the spandrel walls have been dislodged, it appears to be in excellent overall condition.
The Newspaper References
In our search for references to culverts in Latham, only three references to culverts turned up. Interestingly, these three references could very well relate to the three culverts we found. Here they are:
“Broadway, west of the culvert, has been graded and leveled in somewhat respectable shape. Young street also has been graded and supplied with a culvert.”
Latham Signal, November 5, 1887.
“A much needed improvement has been made by placing a new culvert across the street west of the depot.”
The Latham Times, April 10, 1891.
Broadway refers to Blaine Street; when the town was widened very early on to the west, Blaine was dubbed “Broadway” in the “new” part of town. The depot was located at the intersection of Blaine Street and Main Street.
Determining the Age of the Culverts
It seems more than coincidental that we found three references to culverts and found three stone arch culverts at the locations specified. The two culverts referred to in the first clipping could indeed refer to both the Young Street culvert and the culvert located at the intersection of Blaine/Hickory. The second reference would be most likely to refer to the Blaine Street culvert near the present-day post office.
Notice the dates on the papers: 1887 and 1891. If the culverts referred to are indeed the stone arch culverts we see today, then these would be the oldest known stone arch bridges in the entire county (previously the 1897 Turkey Creek Bridge appeared to be the oldest stone arch bridge in Butler). The three references and three culverts make it seem quite possible that these stone arch structures are the originals. Of course these culverts may have been rebuilt at some point; perhaps they were wood and replaced with stone. However, there is no newspaper evidence of that, though there is a gap in our available newspapers in the 1890s.
1887 seems early for stone arch bridges in Butler, though this is not by any means impossible; it would appear that a few culverts, which the Latham stone bridges are, were built in these early days. By 1891, stone arch bridge building was coming into its own in Butler. One other piece of the puzzle to consider lies within the history of Latham itself. Even though the town was very new (it was founded in 1885), from the very beginning newspapers reveal that a large number of stone buildings were being built, and the people of Latham obviously had high hopes and plans for their town, with the result that they were building like the town already was the great metropolis they hoped it would be. With such an attitude, and with masons already at work in the town, it seems quite possible that these stone arch culverts were indeed the ones referred to in the newspaper, making them the oldest known stone arch bridges in Butler County. At any rate, they are significant, for two of them carry a full-fledged blacktop, and one of them is arguably the widest known stone bridge in Butler. These culverts have been added to our Stone Arch Bridges of Butler County, Kansas page.
Stone Arch Bridges 