Stone Arch Bridges

Author: StoneArchBridges

  • Crab Creek Bridge

    Building Cowley’s Stone Bridges: Walter Sharp’s Articles Part 2

    In this post we quote a 1911 article by Walter Sharp, in which he descibes the struggles Cowley County, Kansas, faced when the county first began building stone arch bridges.

  • Dunkard Mill Bridge

    Building Cowley’s Stone Bridges: Walter Sharp’s Articles Part 1

    In this post, we quote an account written in 1920 by Walter Sharp about how several Kansas counties, including Butler and Cowley counties, began building stone arch bridges.

  • Floral Bridge

    The Floral Bridge

    The Floral Bridge in Cowley County, Kansas, is a large stone bridge built by Walter Sharp spanning Timber Creek. Interesting comments about it were made when it was completed.

  • Sycamore Springs Bridge

    Butler’s Three Walnut River Bridges

    Butler County, Kansas, has many stone arch bridges. In this post, we discuss three of the most fascinating of Butler’s stone bridges, which span the Walnut River near Cassoday.

  • Cowley Stone Bridge Designs: Records

    Cowley County, Kansas, rose to fame throughout the state for the county’s record-size bridges. The Dunkard Mill, Goodnight, McCaw, and H. Branson bridges all set state records.

  • Pudden Bridge

    Cowley Stone Bridge Designs: Innovation

    Based on Daniel B. Luten’s concrete bridge designs, Cowley built the innovative Esch’s Spur Bridge. Later, the Neer Bridge was erected, which is an engineering masterpiece.

  • Dunkard Mill Bridge

    Cowley Stone Bridge Designs: How it Began

    Cowley County, Kansas, was innovative in stone arch bridge construction. Initially learning from and copying Butler County’s stone bridges, Cowley began to build daring structures.

  • Silliman Bridge

    The Importance of Compression: Part 6

    In this series of posts we compare slab, truss, and arch bridges, and explain why compression is crucial to an arch. In this post we conclude with why an arch is a durable form of span.

  • Floral Bridge Plaque

    The Importance of Compression: Part 5

    In this series of posts we compare slab, truss, and arch bridges, and explain why compression is crucial to an arch. In this post we quote bridge builder Walter Sharp.