National Register of Historic Places

Marsh Concrete Rainbow Arch Bridge

Courtland, Blue Earth County, Minnesota
Listed
July 27, 1980
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
80001953

About this property

Marsh Concrete Rainbow Arch Bridge is a reinforced concrete through arch bridge over the Little Cottonwood River in Cambria Township, Minnesota, United States. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge no longer carries traffic, which has since been shifted to another bridge to the east. The bridge was designed by James Barney Marsh and built in 1911, the same year he filed a patent for his rainbow arch design. The structure features two arched ribs, one on each side of the roadway, rising above the deck. The deck is suspended from the arches by vertical risers. To drivers, the visible arch crowns on each side resemble those of a pony truss bridge. The Little Cottonwood River crossing is among the oldest Marsh rainbow arch bridges in the United States. As traffic volumes increased and farm machinery became larger, many of Marsh’s rainbow arch bridges became obsolete because they could not be widened. Only about half a dozen Marsh rainbow arch bridges remain in Minnesota.

Location

Courtland, Blue Earth County, Minnesota
44.23678, -94.36105

Categories

ENGINEERING
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Flandrau State Park CCC/WPA/Rustic Style Historic Resources
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South Broadway Historic District
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Chicago and North Western Railroad Depot
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Nearby Battles

First Battle of New Ulm
1862Civil War
7.1 mi
Battle of New Ulm (First)
1862Indian Wars
7.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Marsh Concrete Rainbow Arch Bridge listed on the National Register?

Marsh Concrete Rainbow Arch Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 27, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Marsh Concrete Rainbow Arch Bridge?

Marsh Concrete Rainbow Arch Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Marsh Concrete Rainbow Arch Bridge?

The period of significance for Marsh Concrete Rainbow Arch Bridge is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Marsh Concrete Rainbow Arch Bridge?

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