{"nrhp_refnum":"08000875","name":"High Bridge","other_names":["#024-0056","High Bridge Trail State Park","#006-5007-0002"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Appomattox River","address_restricted":false,"city":"Farmville","county":"Cumberland County","state":"VA","lat":37.31401018500006,"lon":-78.31937630968733,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Military","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"High Bridge is a 16-acre district near Farmville in Cumberland and Prince Edward counties, Virginia, along an abandoned rail line crossing the Appomattox River. It contains the remains of an 1854 timber-truss railroad bridge and a 1914 steel bridge.","why_significant":"The nomination cites its link to Virginia railroad development from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s and to major Civil War events, including the 1865 Battle of High Bridge. It also argues the two bridges show the shift from traditional timber and masonry construction to modern steel bridge engineering.","narrative":"High Bridge is a sixteen-acre district on a former rail line east of Farmville, where two bridges cross the Appomattox River flood plain. The first, built in 1854 for the South Side Railroad, was a timber Burr-arch truss carried on brick piers with granite and sandstone abutments. At 2,400 feet long and up to 125 feet high, it was among the largest bridges in the world in its day. Its wooden superstructure is gone, but both abutments and thirteen brick piers survive. Beside it stands the 1914 steel plate-girder trestle, 2,418 feet long on twenty-one steel towers, built by the Virginia Bridge and Iron Company. The site matters for its role in Virginia's railroad network and for Civil War events, including the 1865 fighting as Confederate forces retreated west. It also shows the change from timber and masonry to steel in bridge building. The old rail corridor is now a pedestrian park.","period_of_significance":"1854-1914","architect_builder":"Virginia Bridge and Iron Company","architectural_style":"No Style","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The 1854 bridge has lost its wooden superstructure and several piers, though the abutments and thirteen piers remain stable. The 1914 bridge is in very good condition, with only the rails removed. The site is now used as a pedestrian park.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:02.800257-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/51/6803/41680351/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/08000875.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000875/d735b7f90b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000875/d735b7f90b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Virginia State Parks","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:High_Bridge_(35794593764).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Virginia State Parks</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:High_Bridge_(35794593764).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680351","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Bridge_(Appomattox_River)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4030901"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/cumberland-county/high-bridge-08000875/"}