About this property
The Old Town Bridge in Franklin, Tennessee was a "frame bridge across Brown Creek near its junction with the Big Harpeth River." It was built by U.S. soldiers in 1801. It carried the Harpeth River branch of the Natchez Trace over Brown's Creek. The bridge was rebuilt several times subsequently, but was dismantled some time before 1988. Only the limestone abutments remained when the site was surveyed in 1988. The bridge is "one of the oldest remaining man-made bridges in Tennessee". A photograph of the bridge is available which shows the "structure consisted of massive masonry abutments with a short pole bridge suspended between them. Pole bridges were probably the most common type of bridge erected in frontier days and are still used today for simple county bridges. These bridges consist merely of poles (trees or logs) extending from one abutment to another with a deck of saplings or planks laid across these poles. Obviously these could be quite primitive with the ground or a natural feature such as a rock shelf serving as the abutments, but they could only be used for short spans. Some pole bridges used log cribs filled with rock and dirt as abutments." This is considered to be the only site on the Natchez Trace in Williamson County, Tennessee, that retains historic integrity. It is located about 300 yards from Thomas Brown House, which is also NRHP-listed, and near a plaque to Old Town, an Indian village and mounds site.
Location
Categories
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 Old Town Bridge
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Questions about this property
When was Old Town Bridge listed on the National Register?
Old Town Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 12, 1988.
What type of historic resource is Old Town Bridge?
Old Town Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Old Town Bridge?
The period of significance for Old Town Bridge is recorded as the civil_war era, specifically around 1801.
Can I research the history near Old Town 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 Old Town Bridge will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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