Cook’s Run “S” Bridge, Cambridge, Ohio

What remains of this bridge known as the Cook’s Run S Bridge, was built in the late 1820s as part of the “National Road”. In a nutshell the National Road was the first federally funded road which began construction in 1811 in Cumberland, Maryland and making its way to Vandalia, Illinois by 1839. The Ohio portion of the roadway ran east to west across the center of the state.

This “S” Bridge is one of 5 still existing in Ohio. More were built but no one knows for sure the number as some were lost during construction of newer roadways such as todays realignment of Route 40 and Interstate I-70. The bridge was made of cut stone for the walls with a type of gravel/stone base for the roadway. That roadway was later covered with brick. This and the other 4 “S” bridges were built specifically in an “S” pattern in order to cross the creek on a 90º angle. For a more detailed explanation of how these bridges were built and why, see the link below for the video where we interviewed David Simmons on the construction of the Fox Run S Bridge.

This particular bridge was bypassed 1936 when the National Road, now U.S. Route 40 was realigned. The Bridge was named after Revolutionary War Veteran, Captain Thomas Cook 1749-1831 who served in the 8th Pennsylvania regiment. Cook owned 300 acres of land in this area and the creek that flowed through his property was known as Cook’s Run. The National Road was built through Cook’s property 3 years before is death in 1831.

These “S” bridges are definitely worth stopping to view. If you’re driving along U.S. Route 40 and see one of these bridges, I highly recommend you stop and take 10 or 15 minutes to take a look at the skill set required to build one of these bridges.

GPS  Location:  40°01’29.3″N 81°32’07.3″W