Day 145 - The Jug Bridge, Revisited

(Click on any photo to enlarge.)

Side view of the toll house.

As I got out of the car today on the closed section of old Rt. 144, part of the historic National Road, I was practicing in my head what to tell anyone who might question my walking in the area.  Although Jersey barriers block access to the arched concrete bridge that crossed the Monocacy before it was replaced with the steel span, there are not any "No Trespassing" signs, so I had no worries there.  What I was more concerned about was the third road that leads to the river, the one that I have now figured out led to the old Jug Bridge.

Just me and the deer.

My thought was to say that I am an historian.  I actually said it out loud to myself, and then I realized with a big surprise, that the first words out of my mouth were not "I am a photographer."  And that's when I realized that there is not really a clear separation of what I am doing on these walks.  Much of the time, I am an historian who photographs.  It's becoming a whole new way of thinking about myself.

An unexpected find on the road.

Anyway, I walked down the third road, which parallels the modern day road across the river.  I have actually walked it before, but I had no idea at the time that it would lead to the earliest bridge of all, the Jug Bridge.  After my walk the other day, when I discovered through my research that there was still a remaining toll house for the Jug Bridge, I knew that I would have to find it.  It has been a private residence since 1911.

Western Abutment

As I approached the end of the road, there were numerous "no trespassing" signs and "beware of dog" signs.  I took a long shot, as well as I could, and I almost asked the postman, who was zipping down the road toward the toll house, if I could hitch a ride. 

However, I walked back up the original road, and then started my way down the second road, leading to the closed concrete arch bridge.  It was pretty well snow covered, but the walking was not slippery.  Because the leaves are off the trees, I could see the toll house from that road, and when I got to the bridge, I could see the old stone abutments on either side of the river.

The link below documents the history of the toll house.

Front View

http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagsere/se1/se5/010000/010500/010571/pdf/msa_se5_10571.pdf

This link is really cool.  You can see various pictures of the bridge, the toll house, the road, and the jug in place.

http://www.whatwasthere.com/browse.aspx#!/ll/39.397897,-77.365978/id/17030/info/details/zoom/14/


Now my goal is to find the road that leads from the eastern approach.  That's for another day!




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Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so
7.