Several incarnations of the Conowingo Bridge crossed the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

at the original location of

Conowingo, Maryland Conowingo is a community in northwestern Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The community replaced a previous one that was inundated by a reservoir. Etymology Conowingo is a Susquehannock word for "at the rapids". History Conowingo was or ...

, United States, about two miles upstream of the

Conowingo Dam The Conowingo Dam (also Conowingo Hydroelectric Plant, Conowingo Hydroelectric Station) is a large hydroelectric dam in the lower Susquehanna River near the town of Conowingo, Maryland, Conowingo, Maryland. The medium-height, masonry gravity dam ...

, which replaced it.

History

The original Conowingo Bridge was a seven-span, ,

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

built between 1818 and 1820 by

Louis Wernwag Louis Wernag (December 4, 1769 in Altenburg, Württemberg, Holy Roman Empire – August 12, 1843 in Hapers Ferry, Virginia) was a bridge builder in the United States in the early 19th century. Early life On leaving school, in order to evade mili ...

, who also worked on the Port Deposit Bridge. (Another source lists 1844.) That bridge was destroyed, in 1846 or 1847, by a flood. A new wooden covered bridge opened in 1859. This crossing was an important link between Maryland and northern states in the 19th century. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, it was guarded on its southern approach, and some of the bridge decking was removed to prevent surreptitious crossing. On June 6, 1907, "firebugs" set fire to the 1859 bridge using kerosene. About three-quarters of a mile of it burned. The bridge was rebuilt as a steel structure in 1909. In 1911, the state of Maryland bought the bridge and ended the tolls. With the dam's completion in 1928, both the town and the crossing were relocated due to the rising waters impounded by the dam. The road crossing moved to the top of the dam. The bridge was then destroyed by

blasting gelatin Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltpe ...

References

External links

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Old Conowingo Covered Bridge circa 1880Photo of the bridge, Maryland Historical SocietyMore of the 1900 Topographical Map showing the Conowingo Bridge
Bridges over the Susquehanna River Bridges completed in 1820 Bridges completed in 1859 Bridges completed in 1909 Road bridges in Maryland Covered bridges in the United States destroyed by arson Arson in Maryland Former toll bridges in Maryland Steel bridges in the United States Wooden bridges in Maryland Bridges in Cecil County, Maryland U.S. Route 1 Conowingo, Maryland {{Maryland-bridge-struct-stub