Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County by Eph Herriott, Part 2 Crossing at Romney

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

The first bridge on the South Branch just west of Romney was built in 1838.28 The South Branch Intelligencer indicated that a second bridge was built in this same time frame after the first was recently built and destroyed (Figure 14). These were wooden covered bridges as shown by a Civil War sketch (Figure 15).

Figure 15 The Romney Bridge Skirmish – Harpers Illustrated, July 6, 1861

The covered bridge was burned by the Confederates early in Figure 14 First Bridges at Romney the Civil War, February, 1862.29 General Loring ordered the bridge be destroyed. Lieutenants John Blue and Ike Parsons along with a black Confederate burned the bridge. Being of pine construction and a wooden shingle roof, the bridge was destroyed in about 20 minutes after being set afire.

A Whipple/Murphy iron truss bridge of two 176 foot long by 20 foot wide spans with wood decks was built in 1874.30 This design using pins rather than rivets allowed quick assembly as well as the ability to be readily disassembled and moved to another location. The winning bid was $10,000 from T. B. White and Sons of New Brighton, Pennsylvania.31 With the contract being let in April and the bridge finished the following October, the construction was indeed quite rapid.

A May 1875 notice shows the county selling wire cable from the ferry that had operated near the Romney Bridge.32 Ferry service across the South Branch at Romney must have been available for at least

28 Fint, p. 6. 29 Blue, Hanging Rock Rebel, pp. 51-52. 30 Fint, pp. 5-8. 31 The South Branch Intelligencer, April 17, 1874. 32 The South Branch Intelligencer, May 21, 1875.

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

some of the interval between the destruction of the covered bridge in 1862 and construction of a new bridge in 1874.

The wooden bridge decks required periodic replacement. For example, in 1900, John J. Inskeep (1843-1918) advertised in The Hampshire Review to buy lumber for the bridge decking (Figure 16).

The Whipple iron truss bridge served from 1874 to 1937, a span of 63 years. It survived several major floods including the very high ones of 1877 and 1936.

However the approaches to the bridge did not fare so well. The South Branch Intelligencer reported after the Figure 16 Wooden Flooring Needed for the 1877 flood that “the bridge near Romney is saved and Romney Bridge uninjured; but only saved by the loss of the heavy embankments on each side of the river, the long embankment on the west side was swept away some quarter of a mile down to the natural level, and in some places ten feet below, covering many acres of the magnificent bottom Mr. Wm. Taylor from one to three feet in gravel. The loss to the county is heavy, as the bridge is almost useless without the embankment.”33

Again, in April 1901, flooding severely damaged the road next to the bridge. “The road bed just beyond the bridge west of town was almost completely washed away and the town and institution were both cut off from their water supply by reason of the break in the water pipes at this point. The situation now is such that some steps toward erecting another span to the bridge, making an embankment, or in some way remedying the difficult is imperative.”34 The river apparently left the bridge itself unharmed but “high and dry”. The County Court evaluated various options (Figure 17).35 Bids were requested for three options, (1) construction of a new bridge to extend the current bridge, (2) construction of an embankment to replace the approaches washed out by the flooding, and (3) relocation of the current bridge to a better location. More flooding was experienced late in May of that same year such that “Traffic west of Romney was cut off for a couple of days Figure 17 Options Considered for on account of the condition of affairs at the bridge.”36 Repairs at the Romney Bridge

33 The South Branch Intelligencer, November 30, 1877. 34 The Hampshire Review, April 24, 1901. 35 Commissioner Ephraim Herriott was the author’s great-grandfather. 36 The Hampshire Review, May 29, 1901.

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

Damage to the embankments at the Romney Bridge continued. The heavy ice freshet in March 1902 destroyed the bridge at the Lower Rocks and “The fill at the bridge west of town was also damaged considerably, some of the logs being taken off and much of the gravel and rocks washed away” (Figure 7). What to do at the bridge was still not resolved by April 1903.37 An additional span was not built and the bridge was not relocated so repair to the approaches ultimately prevailed.

1936 was an eventful year for the bridges at Romney. The Whipple Truss Bridge survived the very high March 1936 flood. Also a new bridge to replace it was built during this year. Finally, while the new bridge was under construction, part of the Whipple truss bridge was downed, not by flooding, but by a car.

In 1936 a bridge to replace the Whipple truss bridge was constructed.38 The new bridge was located immediately downriver from the Whipple Truss Bridge. The total cost of this bridge and approaches was just under $150,000 (Figure 18). It consisted of “Multiple Simple Span Pony Truss (SSPT) Bridge Spans and one Simple Truss Thru Span”39 with a concrete deck. Its construction was very similar to that of the bridge built at the Lower Hanging Rocks the same year.

While this bridge was being built, a car going west on US Route 50 hit the southeast corner of the east span upright of the Whipple Truss Bridge and knocked the span off its abutment.40 Even though the bridge fell on top of the car, the driver escaped serious injury. A second car coming from the west with three occupants also plunged more than 20 feet off the middle pier onto the fallen span. Again no serious injuries were sustained. See Appendix VIII for the complete Hampshire Review article. Bruises and a broken nose were the extent of the injuries by this account. A later Hampshire Review account Figure 18 Contracts Let for a new gave the extent of the injuries as a “broken wooden leg.”41 Romney Bridge in 1936 – The Hampshire Review A temporary wood span, where the fallen span had been, carried traffic until the new bridge opened June 21, 1937.42 The remaining span of the Whipple Truss Bridge was moved to Capon Lake in 1938 where it was used until 1991 (Figure 19). This span is now on the National Register of Historic Places. “The Capon Lake Whipple Truss is West Virginia’s oldest existing metal truss and one of the few Whipple trusses remaining in the state.”

37 The Hampshire Review, April 15, 1903. 38 Fint, p. 7. 39 Whisner 40 The Hampshire Review, November 18, 1936. 41 The Hampshire Review, December 2. 1936. 42 Fint, p. 7.

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

The Romney Bridge did survive the 1985 flood even though the flood waters reached the roadbed (Figure 20). The approaches once again were damaged and had to be rebuilt. This simple truss bridge served until 2010 when it was replaced with a “New Multiple Continuous Steel Welded Plate Girder (CSPG) Spans”43 bridge (Figure 21).

Figure 19 The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge, Formerly One of the Spans of the Romney Bridge – Photo by Greg Michael (2011)

43 Whisner

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

Figure 20 The Romney Bridge in the 1985 South Branch River Flood

Figure 21 The Current Romney Bridge – Photo by Eph Herriott (2020)

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

Crossing at Millesons Mill

The first bridge across the South Branch below Millesons Mill was built in 1901and 1902.44 This bridge was 2.7 miles east of Springfield on the Springfield Pike, aka., County Route 3. It was built by the York Bridge Company for $5684 (Figure 22).45 The County Court was still making payments to the York Bridge Company in 1905.46 The $1000 payment was accompanied by interest suggesting the bridge had been completed for some time before this payment.

The iron truss bridge had two Simple Span Thru Truss (SSTT) spans.47 Figure 23 is a photograph of Figure 22 Bridge to be Built Below Millesons one of the spans. It was a single lane with a wood Mill deck. It was used until 1979 when it was replaced by the current bridge. By the end of its use-life it had become too weak to handle heavy loads. Its load limits had been reduced to such low levels during the 1970’s that school busses had to unload the students and cross the bridge empty. The students walked across. When the new bridge opened, it was removed. An abutment and pier remain (Figure 24).

The original Millesons Mill Bridge was replaced with a “Multiple Continuous Steel Welded Plate Girder (CSPG) Spans”48 in 1979. An aerial view was taken during the construction of the new bridge and shows both bridges (Figure 25). The new bridge is located immediately downriver from the original bridge. A temporary low water bridge for the construction equipment was in place too. The new bridge “consists of Multiple Continuous Steel Welded Plate Girder (CSPG) Spans”49 (Figure 26).

“The Existing CSPG Millesons Mill Bridge sustained major Flood Damage during the 1985 Flood, with the End Girder Span toward Springfield lifted up and shoved downstream. Orders Construction repaired that End Span by jacking up the End Span and relocating the Girders back on the Original Bridge Seats along with welding Web Stiffeners.”50 The approaches on both ends were also severely damaged. The water was over the bridge enough to leave trees on top of the bridge (Figure 27).

44 The Hampshire Review, August 7, 1901, November 27, 1901, May 14. 1902, July 2, 1902, August 6, 1902. 45 Note that several of the fords across the South Branch between The Rocks and its confluence with the North Branch have been called Blues Ford over the years. Many Blues lived at various locations along the South Branch in this region. One was at the Lower Hanging Rocks and another near this Millesons Mill Bridge. Even today the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources has two public access locations to the river well below Millesons Mill named Blue Ford South and Blue Ford North. 46 The Hampshire Review, August 16, 1905. 47 Whisner. 48 Whisner. 49 Whisner. 50 Whisner.

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

Figure 23 One Span of the Original Millesons Mill Bridge – Photo by Wayne and Wanda Neilsen

Figure 24 An Abutment and Pier Remain from the First Millesons Mill Bridge – Photo by Eph Herriott (2015)

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

Figure 25 Aerial View of the New Millesons Mill Bridge While Under Construction, About 1979

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

Figure 26 The Current Millesons Mill Bridge with Build Date (inset) – Photos by Eph Herriott (2015, 2020)

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

Figure 27 Millesons Mill Bridge After the 1985 Flood – Photos by Eph and Karen Herriott (1985)

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

Crossing Between Glebe and Sector

The Glebe-Sector Suspension Bridge was across the South Branch between Glebe and Sector at the lower end of the Trough. This was a remote section of the county. Sector had the railroad but was isolated to other traffic because the road over the mountain to Sector was and still is narrow and steep. Glebe was served by an unpaved county road, but not the railroad. The Sector Bridge was built for better access to both.

Mary Kuykendall and Evelyn Baker wrote an unpublished article, The Flood of ’36 – The Good Old Days of the Trough Suspension Bridge, in 2004. The writers discussed the Glebe-Sector Suspension Bridge and its connection to the local residents on both sides of the river. They recounted the recollections of Fred Rinker (1918-2011), Katherine Harmison Horner (1912-2009) and Ruth Harmison Parker (1917-2005) with respect to the Glebe-Sector Bridge. Fred Rinker had lived on the Sector side while the Harmison sisters had lived near the bridge on the Glebe side.

At the age of eight, Fred Rinker would bike down the mountain to Sector and cross the bridge to visit playmates on the Glebe side. A number of people lived in the Sector area then. Fred Rinker estimated there were about twenty mountain farms and orchards on the Sector side. Sector also had a cannery. There were only a few cars locally so the bridge traffic was mostly horses and wagons. Katherine and Ruth Harmison and their siblings would go over the bridge with their grandfather John Decker Millar (1860-1943) who went daily to the Sector Post Office to pick up his copy of the Baltimore Sun which came in on the train. When Ruth Harmison broke her arm, she was taken across the bridge and sent by train to Romney for treatment by Dr. R. W. Dailey. Katherine Harmison had a photograph of a May Day celebration in 1926 with the bridge in the background. She also had a photograph of her grandfather John D. Millar crossing the bridge in 1918.

The Glebe-Sector Bridge was destroyed by the 1936 flood. Fred Rinker and the Harmison sisters remembered it going out in the flood. The Hampshire Review reported the bridge at Sector being “swept away”.51 The bridge was a great convenience to the local residents. Kuykendall and Baker state their source(s) believed “the suspension bridge to have been built shortly after the Civil War”.

That the Glebe-Sector Bridge was built “shortly after the Civil War” is incorrect. The railroad was constructed through Sector in 1910.52 Just two years later (August 1912), “Bids are hereby requested for the erection and construction of a steel cable bridge across the South Branch of the Potomac river at a selected site on the County Poor Farm.”53 The County Poor Farm sits at the lower end of the Trough, the site of the bridge. Having the railroad passing through Sector certainly must have been the overriding incentive to have a bridge at this location. The complete “Bids Wanted” notice is shown in Appendix IX. A train schedule for the Hampshire Southern Railroad between Romney and Petersburg for this era is shown in Appendix X. The train stop is called “Glebe” even though Glebe is on the east side of the river and the railroad is on the west side. This stop warranted an agent.

51 The Hampshire Review, March 25, 1936. 52 Brannon, Historic Hampshire, p. 19. 53 Notice in several issues of The Hampshire Review, including the July 31 and August 7, 1912 issues.

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

The bridge was built by Farris Bridge Company of Charleston, West Virginia (Figure 28). The financial statement suggests that the cost escalated from an original estimate of $1485 to $3387 during 1912. The bridge was likely completed in 1913 since it was to be completed within five months of the contract date. By the November 1913 County Court session, “The Sheriff was ordered to pay $2000 on the bridge at Glebe.”54

All that remains of the Glebe-Sector Bridge is the pier on the Glebe side of the river and some concrete debris of a pier on the Sector side (Figures 29 and 30). A Google Earth measurement shows the distance between the piers was about 370 feet which would have been the suspension portion of the bridge. Apparently the benefits of a bridge here were not great enough to justify its rebuilding. The families in Figure 28 Glebe-Sector Bridge cost Sector moved out leaving Sector a community of part- estimates by the Farris Bridge Company time recreational residents only.

Figure 30 Sector Bridge Pier Debris on West Side – Photo by Eph Herriott (2020) Figure 29 Sector Bridge Pier on East Bank of the

South Branch – Photo by Eph Herriott (2020)

54 The Hampshire Review, November 5, 1913

Crossing the South Branch in Hampshire County, A History of Our Bridges

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Horton, Vicki Bidinger, Hampshire County Minute Book Abstracts, Volume 1, 1788-1802, 1993, reprinted for Clearfield Company, Inc. by Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., Baltimore, MD 1995, 1998, 2001.

Blue, Lt. John, Edited by Dan Oates, Hanging Rock Rebel, Burd Street Press, Shippensburg, PA, 1994.

Brannon, Seldon W., editor, Historic Hampshire, McClain Printing Company, Parsons. WV, 1976.

Epperly, Randy, John Blue Bridge – Hampshire County, State Level Historic Documentation Report, State Project No. S314-28-22.27, Federal Project No. BR-0028(058)D, WV Department of Transportation, My 22, 2018 http://www.highwaysthroughhistory.com/Content/bridges/JohnBlue/docs/slhd.pdf.

Fint, Courtney, Architectural Historian, WV Department of Highways, August 3, 2011 registration form for National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, United States Department of Interior http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/hampshire/11000929.pdf.

Kuykendall, Mary and Baker, Evelyn, The Flood of ’36 – The Good Old Days of the Trough Suspension Bridge, unpublished article, 2004.

Maxwell, Hu and Swisher, H. L., History of Hampshire County, West Virginia, A. Brown Boughner, Printer, Morgantown, West Virginia, 1897, reprinted by McClain Printing Company, Parsons, WV, 1972.

Newspapers, viz., South Branch Intelligencer and The Hampshire Review, both published in Romney, WV. The library at Potomac State College in Keyser has a large collection of them online at https://libguides.potomacstatecollege.edu/wvnewspapers.

Stream Flow Data for the South Branch at Millesons Mill Bridge from United States Geological Service, viz., USGS 01608500 SOUTH BRANCH POTOMAC RIVER NEAR SPRINGFIELD, WV, https://waterdata.usgs.gov/wv/nwis/uv/?site_no=01608500&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060,62614,62615. Whisner, Thurman W., District 5 Bridge Evaluation Engineer, West Virginia Department of Transportation, personal email to Eph Herriott, March 19, 2020.