Market Street Bridge (Harrisburg)

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Market Street Bridge
Postcard of the Market Street Bridge at night, circa 1900.
Carries	Motor vehicles and pedestrians
Crosses	Susquehanna River
Locale	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Maintained by	PENNDOT
Design	stone arch bridge
Opening date	1820
Toll	1820-1957
Maps and aerial photos

The Market Street Bridge also known as the old Camelback Bridge, is a stone arch bridge that spans the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania. The current structure is the third bridge built at its current location and is the second oldest remaining bridge connecting Harrisburg's downtown and Riverfront Park with the West Shore.

[edit] History

Construction for the Camelback Bridge headed by Jacob Nailor began in 1814 and it was finally opened as a toll bridge in 1820. It was the first structure built anywhere to cross the Susquehanna River. The Camelback enjoyed a monopoly until the completion of the neighboring Walnut Street Bridge in 1890. In 1902 the Camelback Bridge was destroyed by a flood and in 1905 a two-lane replacement bridge was erected at the same location. The present structure, with its graceful stone-glad arches, is the result of the 1926 widening of the replacement bridge. Columns at the Harrisburg entrance to the bridge were salvaged from the old State Capitol which burned in 1897.^[1] The current structure also provides access for pedestrian traffic and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

When Confederate troops invaded Pennsylvania during the American Civil War in the summer of 1863, one of their targets was to destroy the bridge to gain access to the State Capitol in Harrisburg, as well as the various rail yards surrounding the city. To defend the Capital thousands of Union troops marched to Harrisburg and crossed over the Camelback bridge to the West Shore. The toll charged for their passage was $3029.00.^[2] The troops set up fortified positions along the West Shore in the present day boroughs of Lemoyne and New Cumberland, and subsequently fought a skirmish at Sporting Hill on the west side of Camp Hill. Confederate troops came to within 2 miles of the bridge but were repelled and the bridge was never seized.

[edit] References

1. ^ City of Harrisburg (2002). Harrisburg Visitor's Guide: Center City Sights. harrisburgpa.gov/. Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
2. ^ Harrisburg Area Riverboat Society (November 29, 2006). Bridges on the Susquehanna River. harrisburgriverboat.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-29.

[edit] See also

• List of crossings of the Susquehanna River

Bridges of the Susquehanna River Upstream Walnut Street Bridge Market Street Bridge Downstream Cumberland Valley Railroad Bridge

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