Woodward Road Stone Arch Bridge
Why it's listed
A small limestone arch carries Woodward Road across a tributary of the Cornwallville Creek in East Durham, Greene County. Built about 1887, the bridge has a single rounded arch with a seven-foot span, a height of seven feet and a width of eight feet. Its stones are dry-laid, with no mortar, and spring from large stone footings. A steel culvert was added to allow for road widening, but the original roadbed remains. The bridge is attributed to Jeremiah Cunningham, a local farmer who served as Durham's highway commissioner from 1886 to 1896 and built thirteen stone arch bridges. It resembles his other work in material, size, form and method. Durham's hilly terrain and many streams made bridges essential for linking farms, mills, turnpikes and hamlets. Wooden bridges were often lost to floods, while local limestone arches proved durable. This crossing connected East Durham with the settlement of Centreville to the south, and it is valued as an example of regional vernacular engineering.
Significance in brief: The bridge is presented as a representative example of rural vernacular stone bridge design in the town of Durham and as part of the town's road and bridge network, which supported its settlement and development. In materials, size, form and construction method it resembles bridges built by Jeremiah Cunningham, highway commissioner from 1886 to 1896. It retains substantial integrity.
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 09000134, listed March 9, 2009. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Woodward Rd., E. Durham |
|---|---|
| County | Greene County |
| Listed | March 9, 2009 |
| Reference number | 09000134 |
| Resource type | Structure |
| Period of significance | c1886-c1896 |
| Architect / builder | Jeremiah Cunningham (attributed) |
| Architectural style | no style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Engineering, Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still carries its original roadbed and has been widened with a steel culvert to accommodate road widening; the road is in current transportation use. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.37141, -74.09616 (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 09000134.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8033583
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.