Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1889-05-17
Ca bin John Bridge.
EditOr Sentinel

AuttW botHtTtt'
This magnificent structure, which may be
regarded as one of the greatest artificial
wonders of modern times, is located in our
beautiful and thrifty county, and is situated
at a spot which without the presence of this
marvellous monument to mans ingenuity
would be considered by persons of refined
sentiment a scene of transcendent natural
beauty, and well worthy visit even from
remote distance; but with the addition of the
arch its grandeur is simply beyond the pow
er Of language to describe.
The acqueduct, or bridge as it is more
generally termed, is formed of single arch,
the span of which is two hundred and thirty
feet, with the apex or keystone one hun
bred feet above the level of Cabin John
Run. 1t appears that many persons are not
aware that this beautiful bridge is an acque-
duct, and that every drop of water which
is used by the crowds who live in and who
visit the District of Columbia passes over it
through tunnel some eight or ten feet in
diameter, which is concealed from view at
the bridge nd for the whole length of the
conduit, pronounced condit,) by the mac
adamized roadway by which it is covered,
and it can scarcely be imagined that their
demand for water can ever exceed the Ca
pacity of the acqueduct which is seventy
million gallons.
1t is built of gray granite from Seneca
quarries, and it took over ten years to COM
plete the construction of it. The bridge is
in position which at the time of its COM
mencement was inaccessible for boats or
wagons and was as wild as any scene among
the rugged gorges of the Potomac, and the
method by which the mechanical applian-
ces and the thousands of cubic yards of
stone, brick and other material were brought
to the spot was one which probably pre-
sents a favorable parallel to any feat of en-
cheering of our period. The distance from
the point selected for the site of the bridge
to the bank of the G. and o. canal is, think,
about two or three hundred yards, and at
this point the Run empties into the river
under the canal. Here dam was thrown
across the Run which raised the water to a
level with the canal, or sufficiently high to
enable crane and fall to raise the material
from the boats in the canal and deposit it
upon the scows inside of the dam, to be
moved up to the bridge site. The idea seems
simple, but the device is wonderful, and its
application would seem to have brought the
cost Of the acqueduct within practicable
bounds.
The visitor may stand in the glen below
the bridge in the midst of sylvan stiffness
and indulge the fancy in all the charm of
ripping water, wild flowers, the grassy
sward and the romantic associations of the
primeval forest, and right before him stands
one OF the most splendid specimens of art
and civilization, and as he gazes upon it the
senses become wrapt in wonder in the con-
temptation o. the boundless capacity of the
human mind. Almost every vestige of the
busy scene of the construction of the work
has now disappeared and the spot is so
sweetly full of nature that it would scarcely
create surprise TO see gazelle bounding
through the glade.
At either end of the arch, near the abut-
ments, on the south side, are placed tablets
Of polished granite, about eight feet long
and four feet wide, bearing Inscriptions
Viewing them from below, the one at the
left hand bears the words, chiseled in raised
letters about three quarters Of an inch deep
and six inches long
" Washington AcQueduct. Begun A. d. 1858.
President of the " s., Franklin Pierce
Secretaryef War, Jefferson Daois
Building A. d. 1861. President Of tie U. s,
Abraham Lincoln, Secretary Of Var,
Simon Cameron"
The name of Jefferson Davis has been
chiseled from the tablet, leaving blank in
PhNSS VI ehC AhiS uSb CuiIiCS own
commentary upon the administration which
permitted II. Upon the tablet at the right
hand are the words
Union Arch;' Chief Engineer, Montgomery
g. Meigs, U. s. Corps of Engineers.
Esto Perpetual"
Which is quotation from the Latin, mean
ing, "Let it endure forever" The letters are
all the same size in Gothic type, and there
is no punctuation mark la either tablet
Cabin John Run derives its name from
the circumstance, it is said, that some time
in the past a woodman by the name of
John" occupied log cabin somewhere on
the banks of the stream. What singular
commemoration of a name connected with a
simple, humble life
"The lives of great men all remind us,
By their acts and deeds sublime,
That we too should leave behind us,
Footprints on the sands OF time.n
RAMBLER.