{"nrhp_refnum":"75002015","name":"Phoenix Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"NW of Eagle Rock off VA 615 over Craig Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Eagle Rock","county":"Botetourt County","state":"VA","lat":37.64911046900005,"lon":-79.83108940699998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-06-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-span wrought-iron Whipple truss bridge carrying a road over Craig Creek, about 2.6 miles northwest of Eagle Rock in Botetourt County, Virginia. It was built in 1887 by the Phoenix Bridge Co. of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.","why_significant":"The bridge is presented as a notable surviving example of nineteenth-century prefabricated bridges made for rural America by one of the most important manufacturers. It also displays decorative ironwork unusual for industrial products of its era. Its scenic, unspoiled setting adds to its interest.","narrative":"Carrying a road over Craig Creek northwest of Eagle Rock in Botetourt County, this iron bridge was built in 1887 by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. It is a trapezoidal Whipple truss made of rolled wrought iron, with the firm's distinctive Phoenix posts, built from four flanged segments riveted together, and pinned joints with round and rectangular rods. The superstructure rests on two ashlar granite piers, one of which was filled in on the bank side to serve as an abutment, and the wooden roadway survives. Cast spandrels at each end carry garlands, anthemions and the maker's inscription, while small urn-like finials and pierced quatrefoil and trefoil panels add ornament. The bridge matters as a surviving product of the prefabricated bridge industry, which shipped light, easily assembled iron spans to remote places like Eagle Rock. Its decoration reflects an era when industrial goods were embellished, and it sits in an unusually scenic, unspoiled rural setting.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1887)","architect_builder":"Phoenix Bridge Co., Phoenixville, Pa.","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and altered, on its original site; the bridge retains its wooden roadway. One pier has been filled in on the bank side to form an abutment.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.398874-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/6798/41679838/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/75002015.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002015/e7162d2b62-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75002015/e7162d2b62-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Bruce Harms, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phoenix_Bridge,_Spanning_Craig_Creek_at_State_Route_685,_Eagle_Rock_vicinity_(Botetourt_County,_Virginia).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Bruce Harms, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phoenix_Bridge,_Spanning_Craig_Creek_at_State_Route_685,_Eagle_Rock_vicinity_(Botetourt_County,_Virginia).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679838","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14713059"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/botetourt-county/phoenix-bridge-75002015/"}