#Stone arch bridge group full#

So why shouldn’t Butler build such structures? Butler Towns and Townships Try Out Stone The bridge in Florence proved a better bridge than any at that time in Butler, as at least one of the papers noted. The stone bridges in Marion County were successful. Best of all, most of the money spent in construction would remain in the county if they built the bridges with stone. After all, they reasoned, if stone bridges did not cost much more than wood or iron bridges, but lasted longer than either, the choice was rather obvious.

These consisted of a stone bridge over the Cottonwood River in Florence and a particularly well-built bridge over Mud Creek in the town of Marion.Īfter determining that stone bridges did not have to be cost-prohibitive, the Butler newspapers began raising a cry for stone arch bridges. It is safe to say that Butler County was largely inspired by two stone bridges in Marion. They still used steel primarily for the large spans, however. The upshot was that Butler County used stone to build small and medium bridges. This coupled with the fact that Butler had plenty of masons meant that most of the money spent on stone bridges remained in the county.

#Stone arch bridge group full#

Another important benefit of stone was the fact that Butler is full of usable limestone.

Iron bridges had wooden floors that needed replaced, and were hardly flood-proof. As Butler discovered, wood rots and floats away, while stone is enduring. It was after a period of building wooden and iron bridges exclusively that Butler turned to stone. The Use of Stone In Butler Countyīutler County was an early pioneer in stone arch bridge construction in Kansas, having begun using stone in bridges before many Kansas counties did, including Cowley. This single-arch bridge over Turkey Creek near El Dorado on SW 70th Street is likely the oldest remaining stone arch bridge in Butler County.