Our map, where we are aiming to document New Deal structures from coast to coast,has been growing by leaps and bounds this year. Now at over 2,000 sites, we add new data each week. We’re looking for new research associates across the country to help with this effort.
Here’s one of the newest contributions to the map, the Possum Kingdom Stone Arch Bridge – in Graford, TX.
Possum Kingdom Stone Bridge
See the project page (link below) for more photographs of this site
The 18-span stone arch bridge, just below the Morris Shepherd dam on Lake Possum Kingdom, is the longest and most substantial masonry arch bridge in Texas. The design was chosen to withstand flood waters released from the dam a mile above the bridge. It is built from over 7,200 cubic yards of locally quarried limestone. The bridge was built by 74 skilled workers and 250 unskilled workers. Many of the stonemasons were former coal miners. Cushman said, “designers juxtaposed an ancient engineering design with a modern concrete dam to create one of the state’s greatest achievements in landscape construction.” The total length of the bridge is 433 feet and 4 inches. The piers are founded on bedrock and are 3 feet wide, with the exception of piers 7 and 13, which are “bracing piers” and extend up to 5 feet.
Check out the project page for the bridge, which is linked to our map, to see a beautiful series of photographs by Living New Deal contributor Susan Allen.