We recently discovered a little gem of a stone arch culvert in Bolton Township, Cowley County, Kansas. Bordering the Kaw Wildlife Area, this culvert is located in the winding, picturesque, and rugged country on the loop formed primarily by 312th Road, bordering the Arkansas River on the southeast side of Arkansas City. For the exact location, see our map; this culvert is number 53.
The Culvert
This structure is very different than most of Cowley’s stone arch culverts, and appears to have been rather well built. Though the span is only about 4 feet, the culvert is tall enough to walk through, thanks to the high abutments. The streambed is paved in stone under the culvert, and the workmanship is high-quality. The structure does show some major cracking under the arch; obviously settlement or soil pressure has caused some sliding. As long as the cracks do not worsen, the structure seems to be stable.
A peculiar feature of this structure is the recesses in the side of the wall above the arch on the west side. These were clearly on purpose, yet why they were put in is a mystery. Given the appearance of the structure, they may have been for road drainage, but were blocked off on the inside when the road was built up; it is abundantly clear the road used to be lower across this culvert than it now is. The other face of the culvert has no such recesses, but it is possible it was rebuilt at one point.
Who built the culvert? That is much harder to say for sure. The workmanship is very good for a township culvert. It was known that Walter Sharp built township culverts for Bolton Township, and some of them were on the 312th Road loop. It seems possible that this was one of the few small culverts Walter Sharp built.
Stone Arch Bridges 