{"nrhp_refnum":"96001282","name":"Fall Creek Stone Arch Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"1.2 mi. NE of Fall Cr.--Payson Rd., across Fall Cr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Payson","county":"Adams County","state":"IL","lat":39.78506616800007,"lon":-91.30234417999998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A limestone semicircular arch bridge carrying a road across the Fall Creek gorge near Payson in Adams County, Illinois. It was built in 1855 by Joseph Elliot, with James Mann assisting.","why_significant":"The bridge is significant under Criterion A for transportation, because it linked southern Adams County farms with the Mississippi River ports of Quincy and Hannibal. Under Criterion C it is an excellent example of 19th-century rubble stone arch bridge construction. It survives from a type that was largely lost in west central Illinois.","narrative":"Spanning the Fall Creek gorge southeast of Payson, Illinois, this limestone arch bridge was built between May and October 1855. Carpenter and bridge builder Joseph Elliot designed it, and his brother-in-law James Mann assisted. The builders quarried native stone from the gorge walls and laid it in a semi-coursed rubble pattern with a 180-degree semicircular arch, four wingwalls and rubble fill. The arch rises about 33 feet above the creek bed. In the early 1900s the parapet walls were raised from three to five feet using matching stone. The bridge carried crops, livestock and building materials between southern Adams County and the Mississippi River landings serving Quincy and Hannibal, and later led to a railroad depot. Its builders chose a site above flood reach, so it stayed open when wooden bridges nearby washed out. Road traffic ended in 1949, and the bridge now serves walkers on the Fall Creek Overlook trails. It is valued as a rare surviving example of rubble stone arch construction in the region.","period_of_significance":"1855-1946","architect_builder":"Elliot, Joseph, Engineer; Mann, James, Contractor","architectural_style":"Other: Stone Arch Bridge","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Closed to road traffic in 1949 when a new bridge was built; now used as part of the pedestrian trail system at the Fall Creek Overlook. Original shape retained apart from parapet walls raised in the early 1900s.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.192567-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/8916/28891691/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/96001282.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001282/d2d231e8c2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96001282/d2d231e8c2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Arthur Caldwell","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fall_Creek_Stone_Arch_Bridge_HABS1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Arthur Caldwell</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fall_Creek_Stone_Arch_Bridge_HABS1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891691","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_Creek_Stone_Arch_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5432026"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/adams-county/fall-creek-stone-arch-bridge-96001282/"}