Moore Road Stone Arch Bridge
Why it's listed
Moore Road crosses a small tributary of the Cornwallville Creek on a single-span limestone arch bridge built in 1887 southwest of Cornwallville, in the hilly western part of Durham, Greene County. Local limestone was laid dry, without mortar, to form a round arch about four and a half feet across and eight feet wide. The bridge was built on the Charles Wetmore farm and linked farmers at the northern end of Moore Road with a sawmill and with the hamlet of Hervey Street. Jeremiah Cunningham, Durham's highway commissioner from 1886 to 1896, built it, and it is one of eight surviving stone arch bridges he left in the town. Later changes include an iron beam supporting a widened roadbed on the north side and two stacked metal culverts added on the south. It is valued as a representative rural stone bridge and as evidence of how roads and bridges supported farming and industry in Durham.
Significance in brief: The bridge is presented as a representative example of rural vernacular stone bridge design and as part of the town's road development. It is one of eight surviving stone arch bridges in Durham built under Jeremiah Cunningham, highway commissioner from 1886 to 1896. It also illustrates an early widening method using an iron beam over enlarged abutments.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 08000272, listed April 10, 2008. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Moore Rd., Cornwallville |
|---|---|
| County | Greene County |
| Listed | April 10, 2008 |
| Reference number | 08000272 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | 1887 |
| Architect / builder | Jeremiah Cunningham, builder |
| Architectural style | No style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Engineering |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a road bridge; widened on the south side with two metal culverts, though it retains integrity of location, setting, design, materials and workmanship. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.36278, -74.17761 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 08000272.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6908223
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.