by Kate Shunney
Local historian and preservationist David Abruzzi has succeeded in his most recent effort to list western Morgan County structures on the National Register of Historic Places.
These structures, unlike his earlier projects, are not buildings but bridges across the Cacapon River in Great Cacapon and Largent.
“Last count that I know of was there were only 34 bridges in all of WV listed on the National Register of Historic Places so seeing the next two come from Morgan County is significant,” Abruzzi said in announcing the official listing, which was approved early last month.
He researched the backgrounds and architecture and construction of the 1916 Daniel Luten Concrete Arch Bridge at Largent and the 1937 Parker Through Truss Bridge at Great Cacapon.
photo courtesy of David Abruzzi
The National Park Service has now approved their listing on the National Register.
His research included sources from government documents to local history books to newspaper accounts of public project bids and construction.
The Parker Through Truss bridge at Great Cacapon was built in 1937 to replace an earlier truss bridge that got destroyed by the 1936 flood. Construction costs were awarded in the amount of $94,455, Abruzzi reported in his listing application.
The bridge, which carries traffic along Cacapon Road over the Cacapon River near its junction with the Potomac River, has been in continuous use for 88 years. What makes it unique is the steel truss design that holds a concrete deck for traffic.
“The primary span of the bridge is a steel truss superstructure, and a metal grate deck with a concrete layer and an asphalt overlay. The steel superstructure is a Parker truss, a polygonal-top subtype of the Pratt type. The approach from the east is three spans utilizing steel girders resting on a series of piers,” the historic application states. “The west approach is a single span with steel girders extending from the pier supporting the west end of the truss to the abutment. While the bridge has received some minor modifications over its 88 years of use it maintains the majority of its distinctive and defining characteristics and as such retains its historic integrity”
photo courtesy of David Abruzzi
Over the years, minor improvements and painting have been untaken on the bridge, but no major change has been made. Last year, the bridge was renamed the Thurman Whisner Memorial Bridge in honor of the late Great Cacapon bridge and highway engineer.
Abruzzi also researched and compiled the history and construction features of the Largent Bridge, further west along Cacapon Road toward Paw Paw.
“The Largent Bridge was originally constructed as a single lane bridge between 1916 and 1918 to replace a low water ford. The concrete bridge constructed with a nonsymmetrical arch appearance and rounded arch edge are characteristic of the work of noted bridge designer and builder Daniel Luten. In 1936 funding ($28,779.54) for the widening project, to include the approaches, came from the New Deal,” Abruzzi wrote.
photo courtesy of David Abruzzi
Both the design and the construction company make the bridge notable in history, the National Park Service found in granting the listing.
“The Largent Bridge exhibits continuous span design, demonstrating important engineering design or technology as a variation within its class. This bridge was originally constructed by the Luten Bridge Company and widened by the J.M. Francesa & Company of Fayetteville, WV,” Abruzzi wrote. “While Luten is readily recognized for his work, the WV Historic Bridge Inventory Form completed as part of the 2015 WV Bridge Survey noted the bridge’s designer [credited on the bridge plaque as the “J.M. Francesa & Company”] is recognized for their distinguishable work within the state of West Virginia.”
photo courtesy of David Abruzzi
According to his research, Abruzzi found that Daniel Luten had promoted his deck arch bridges because they would be easier to widen as the years brought more and more traffic to the roadways.
“This ‘ease of expansion’ is likely due to the fact a truss type bridge could not be expanded without replacing the deck members and possibly even the trusses themselves because they would now be carrying twice the weight since the roadway would have doubled in width. The other option would have been to build a second truss bridge next to the existing to carry the new traffic lane. In Morgan County two Luten style concrete arch bridges were widened in 1935 validating the truth in Luten’s advertising claim,” Abruzzi wrote.
Parts of the Largent Bridge’s parapet have been replaced and there is metal bracing visible on the structure, but it is still largely in its original condition, making it eligible for the National Register.
Abruzzi noted in his application that Luten bridges are disappearing from Morgan County due to a variety of factors:
“In Morgan County alone four other smaller Luten style concrete arch bridges (with more simple and common solid balustrades) built between 1916 and 1924 are slated for replacement. These four bridges, along with the Largent Bridge, were surveyed during the 2015 state survey and all were assessed as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. However, none were ever
listed and in 2022 the four smaller bridges were identified for replacement primarily due to their poor condition and narrow (single lane) spans unfit for modern vehicles and current traffic patterns.”
In his application, Abruzzi also noted that both bridges are joined by many other New Deal infrastructure projects in the county, built with public funds as part of the economic recovery after the Great Depression.
Other projects included Paw Paw’s municipal water system, the Berkeley Springs High School, the Fish Hatchery at Ridge, Cacapon State Park, The Pine’s Crippled Children’s Hospital and the Park Through Truss Bridge at the entrance to the village of Great Cacapon.
Abruzzi continues to research local history in an attempt to preserve the structures that tell the stories of the lives of the people of Morgan County.
“I’ve successfully written and shepherded six individual listings through the nomination process in the past two years for Morgan County and hoping to get an equal number in the next two years as well,” Abruzzi said about his historic preservation effort.