About this property
The General Méndez Vigo Bridge is a brick barrel vault bridge that brings what is now Puerto Rico Highway 14 across the Río Las Minas near Coamo, Puerto Rico. Also known as Bridge #173 and as Puente Rio las Minas, it was built in the year 1862 as part of Puerto Rico's Carretera Central. The bridge is historically significant for its association with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its role in the Spanish–American War of 1898. It is also the only surviving masonry bridge in the southern section of the Carretera Central. In the Puerto Rican Campaign, American forces landed in the south of Puerto Rico and attacked up the Carretera Central. This bridge, like some others, was destroyed by Spanish troops under Commander Rafael Martinez-Illescas to delay the American troops, which worked; a battalion of the 2nd Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment, part of a U.S. Army column commanded by Major General James H. Wilson, approaching from Ponce, Puerto Rico, was held up. The Wisconsin troops subsequently participated in a pincer movement at the Battle of Coamo in which Martinez-Illescas was killed. The destroyed arch was rebuilt in 1898 by the US Corps of Engineers. Keystones of the arch "embody its history": one side shows a castle, the symbol of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the other provides inscription that it was reconstructed in 1898 by the First Regiment of the Fifth Battalion of the Corps. The arch is otherwise decorated by geometrical designs in relief. Abutments of the bridge are from the 1862 original construction. The bridge is named for General Santiago Mendez Vigo, who was governor of Puerto Rico, for Spain, during 1840 to 1844. It was designed by engineer Timoteo Luberza and cost 15,405 pesos.
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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.
Everything a full report reveals about General Mendez Vigo Bridge
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Questions about this property
When was General Mendez Vigo Bridge listed on the National Register?
General Mendez Vigo Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 18, 1995.
What type of historic resource is General Mendez Vigo Bridge?
General Mendez Vigo Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for General Mendez Vigo Bridge?
The period of significance for General Mendez Vigo Bridge is recorded as the civil_war era, specifically around 1862.
Can I research the history near General Mendez Vigo Bridge?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near General Mendez Vigo Bridge will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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