Year constructed: 1889
Bridge type: Stone Arch Culvert
National Register of Historic Places
status:
Listed
Length: 14 feet
Width: 16 feet
Spans: 1
Jurisdiction: Clayton County
Location: West of Iris Avenue over an unnamed stream, 1.6 miles west of Garnavillo, Sections 13 & 14, T93N-R4W (Garnavillo Township)
Details
At the turn of the century, Clayton County contracted with a variety of firms and individuals to build bridges across the county's myriad streams and ditches. For longer-span crossings (often across the Turkey River) the county opted for iron or steel trusses, whereas at shorter crossings, rudimentary timber stringer structures were often erected. For some crossings, though, the county took advantage of the area's limestone quarries and erected arch bridges built of stone. Constructed by numerous local stone masons, these crossings have maintained a higher degree of structural integrity than either their timber or steel stringer counterparts. The most notable of Clayton County's stone arches is Byrne and Blake's 189-foot Keystone Bridge, built over the Turkey River at Elkader in 1888-89.
A standard example of stone arch construction is the Garnavillo Township Culvert, located 1.5 miles west of Garnvaillo. On April 4, 1899, G.C. Stickfort and other citizens presented a petition for a bridge at this location, on Road 32 between Sections 13 and 14 in Garnavillo Township. The County Board of Supervisors approached the proposed crossing, and awarded a contract for its construction to Josef Vogt of nearby Guttenberg. Stone for the project was likely obtained from either the Motor Quarry near Motor Mill or Coles Quarry near Elkader. The arch's cost was not recorded in county records, but probably cost somewhere under $1,000, based on known costs of other such stone arches of the period. Today, this bridge exhibits an exceptionally high degree of craftsmanship and historical integrity [adapted from Fraser 1991].