As a river town, Wheeling has been home to its share of interesting bridges<\/a>, including famous ones, like our cherished\u00a0marvel of engineering<\/a> suspended over the Ohio and our durable little double stone arch<\/a> in Elm Grove, the oldest bridge in the state.<\/p>\n But there is a third significant, yet less celebrated bridge in Wheeling \u2014 one that serves stoically and inconspicuously, despite spanning what is arguably the most myth-infused site in our myth-saturated town.<\/p>\n And today is an important day for the bridge in question. One hundred twenty-four years ago today, at 18 minutes past 2 in the afternoon of December 17, 1891, the keystone<\/a> for Wheeling\u2019s new stone bridge on Main Street was lowered into place.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The longest single-span stone bridge in the country when opened to traffic in 1892, the Main Street stone arch bridge was destined to serve our city\u2019s legend as a gateway, both literally and metaphorically<\/a>.<\/p>\n Built near the mouth of Wheeling Creek to replace an older stone bridge that had collapsed, the bridge spans an area of ancient legend<\/a> from which the city took its name<\/a>, the site\u00a0where a mysterious leaden plate<\/a> was buried, and where the American steamboat was born<\/a>. And due to a terrible accident<\/a> that occurred just a month after the keystone was placed, it is also the setting for a persistent and popular Wheeling ghost story<\/a>.<\/p>\n But on that day (this day) 124 years ago, the mood was celebratory.<\/p>\n A large crowd had gathered. In fact, large crowds had been gathering to watch the progress of the workers for weeks.\u00a0This occurred, \u201cin spite of the fact that for months a big sign has been displayed at the north end of the west sidewalk inscribed with the words: \u2018Danger! No one is allowed to loaf on this bridge by order of the Board of Public Works.\u2019<\/strong> Doubtless the hundreds of people who insist on loafing there in spite of the notice . . . console themselves with the knowledge that they are not \u2018loafing on the bridge by order of the board of public works,\u2019 but of their own free will and accord.\u201d<\/em> (Daily<\/em>\u00a0Intelligencer<\/em>, Nov. 3, 1891)<\/p>\n A timber \u201cfalse arch\u201d frame (\u201c250,000 feet of the best lumber\u201d) held the 159 foot stone arch in place while the keystone was lowered using a derrick. The cheers of the crowd were accompanied by blasts from steam whistles.\u00a0Speeches were delivered by Judge Cochran<\/a> (president of the Wheeling Bridge & Terminal Railroad Company) and Mayor Seabright. The crowd \u2014 including spectators, members of the press, bridge workers, and city officials \u2014 then adjourned for\u00a0Henry Bierberson\u2019s pub on South Street where toasts were made and \u201cMr. Joseph Emsheimer, the orator of the Second ward, made a very flowery speech, and congratulated every one connected with the bridge . . . Agent Siebert, of the Anheuser-Busch brewery, sent a keg of his beer over on the arch, and the workmen got away pretty quick with what the visitors did not drink . . .\u201d<\/em> Perhaps fueled by spirits both ethereal and liquid, three mail carriers from the \u201cSouth side\u201d raced across the bridge with their bags of letters. Gus Knoke was declared the winner.<\/p>\n All of the 771 stones used in the construction (each weighing more than two tons) had been locally quarried and cut in a stone yard at 29th and Eoff Streets under the watchful eye of chief stone cutter, C. S. Olmstead (whose wife was said to be the first woman to walk on the bridge). The keystone is the forty-third stone from the north, at the\u00a0crown of the arch, 28.4 feet above the top of the abutment, and \u201c12 feet above low water.\u201d<\/p>\n Some time after the keystone was successfully placed, the timber frame was removed. The bridge officially opened to traffic a few moths later in early 1892, and after some initial settling<\/a>, has served the city well, doing yeoman\u2019s work for a century and a quarter thus far.<\/p>\n![\"Then](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/TnN-MainStBridge-WEB-600-an.gif?resize=600%2C416\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/1854-view_ESachse-CU-wm.jpg?resize=150%2C150\")
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\nTo \u201cLoaf\u201d or Not To \u201cLoaf\u201d<\/h2>\n
\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/BROWN_78.jpg?resize=300%2C236\")
<\/a>![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/bridge.jpg?resize=124%2C300\")
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\nAn Elegant Math<\/h2>\n
\n![\"Closeup](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/5030658218_173d03a374_o.jpg?resize=150%2C150\")
<\/a>![\"In](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.archivingwheeling.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/JH-Parade_MainStBridge-900.jpg?resize=150%2C150\")
<\/a>