Natural Bridge | |
 The Natural Bridge | |
  Natural Bridge  Natural Bridge  Natural Bridge | |
| Nearest city | Natural Bridge, Virginia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 37°37′39″N79°32′43″W / 37.62750°N 79.54528°W /37.62750; -79.54528 |
| Part of | Natural Bridge Historic District (ID15001047) |
| NRHP reference No. | 97001401[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 18, 1997 |
| Designated NHL | August 6, 1998[2] |
Natural Bridge is a geological formation inRockbridge County,Virginia,United States, comprising a 215-foot-high (66 m)natural arch with a span of 90 feet (27 m). It is situated within a gorge carved from the surrounding mountainouslimestone terrain byCedar Creek, a small tributary of theJames River. Consisting of horizontal limestone strata, Natural Bridge is the remains of the roof of a cave or tunnel through which the Cedar Creek once flowed.
Natural Bridge has been designated aVirginia Historic Landmark and aNational Historic Landmark. Since 2016, the bridge and its surroundings have been managed by theCommonwealth of Virginia asNatural Bridge State Park.[3]
Rocks in the area arelimestones anddolomites from theOrdovician Period, which implies deposition about 470 million years ago.
Thecarbonates of the Natural Bridge occur within theChepultepec Formation, making thebuttress of the bridge, and theBeekmantown Formation, depositedconformably over the Chepultepec and comprising the span and the upper part of the bridge.[4]Strata at Natural Bridge are close to horizontal, in contrast with dipping and folded beds as close as 300 feet (91 m) away along Highway 11, which points to the fact thatstructurally the rocks making the Natural Bridge are the bottom part of asyncline.
The process of formation of the bridge is less certain, but the ideas proposed by different individuals have in common the importance of three elements: The southeast dipping of the strata, the capability of water to slowly dissolve carbonates, and the existence of numerous fractures. Edgar W. Spencer has provided a summary of the most respected interpretations and produced the presently most widely accepted hypothesis.[5]
According to Spencer, the Natural Bridge was the remnant of an underground river tunnel that diverted water to the south. Initially, the underground river started capturing water from the Poague Run about two miles (3.2 km) to the north, contributing to enlarge the incipient Cedar Creekdrainage basin. Over time, throughweathering anderosion, the underground river collapsed and disappeared almost completely, the Natural Bridge being the only surviving relic of the roof of the ancient underground river. The creek's larger flow contributed to form the present-daygorge, significantly increasing the distance from the bottom of the water flow to the roof of the underground channel. Today, the "Lost River", about one-half mile (0.80 km) upstream from the Natural Bridge, is an example supporting the hypothesis of the underground river. Water from the side of the gorge flows into the Cedar Creek, similarly as the ancestral Cedar Creek underground river allegedly flowed into the Cascade Creek, presently entering the Cedar Creek approximately 500 feet (150 m) below the Natural Bridge.
Historic Rockbridge indicates that “Natural Bridge is part of the Beekmantown Formation from the Ordovician period, estimated to be 500 million years old.”[6]
The Natural Bridge was a sacred site of theNative AmericanMonacan tribe, who believed it to be the site of a major victory over pursuingPowhatans centuries before the arrival of Europeans in Virginia.[7]
In March 1742, a frontiersman named John Howard — along with his son and others — was commissioned byGovernor William Gooch to explore the southwest of Virginia as far as theMississippi River. The party followedCedar Creek through the Natural Bridge, then floated in buffalo-skin boats down theNew,Coal,Kanawha, andOhio rivers to the Mississippi.[8]
It is alleged thatGeorge Washington also came to the site in 1750 as a young surveyor.[7] To support claims that Washington surveyed the area, tour guides claim the initials "G.W." on the wall of the bridge, 23 feet (7.0 m) up, were carved by the future president. Legend also has it that George Washington threw a rock from the bottom of Cedar Creek over the bridge. In 1927, a large stone was found, also engraved "G.W." and bearing a surveyor's cross, which historians accepted as proof that he indeed surveyed the bridge.[7]
Thomas Jefferson purchased 157 acres (64 ha) of land including the Natural Bridge fromKing George III of Great Britain for 20shillings in 1774. He called it "the most Sublime of nature's works". Jefferson built a two-room log cabin, with one room reserved for guests, beginning its use as a retreat. While President, in 1802, he personally surveyed the area. Many famous guests stayed here, includingJohn Marshall,James Monroe,Henry Clay,Sam Houston, andMartin Van Buren.[7]
One of the earliest paintings of the Natural Bridge was done by Jacob Caleb Ward (1809–1891) in 1835. It is on view at theNelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.[9]
Natural Bridge was one of the tourist attractions of the new world that Europeans visited during the 18th and 19th centuries. Vacationing guests from all over the world took day trips from Natural Bridge on horseback or horse-drawn carriages to explore the countryside. In 1833, a new owner erected the Forest Inn to accommodate the increasing number of people.
The bridge had considerable notoriety during the 19th century.Herman Melville alluded to the bridge in describingMoby-Dick: "But soon the fore part of him slowly rose from the water; for an instant his whole marbleized body formed a high arch, like Virginia's Natural Bridge..."[10]William Cullen Bryant, another American literary figure, said that Natural Bridge andNiagara Falls were the two most remarkable features ofNorth America.[11] During the 1880s Natural Bridge was a resort owned by Colonel Henry Parsons, who also owned the nearbyRockbridge Inn.[12]
In 1927 a nocturnal lighting display of the arch and gorge was designed bySamuel Hibben and Phinehas V. Stephens, illuminating engineers with theWestinghouse Company.[13] The display was formally switched on by PresidentCalvin Coolidge in a 1927 inaugural ceremony. The original display has since been replaced with a sound and light show depicting the biblical seven days of the Creation as described inGenesis.
In 2013, nearly 1,500 acres (6.1 km2), including the bridge, were slated to be sold at auction. To prevent piecemeal development of the landmark, the Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund (VCLF) purchased the bridge, hotel, and surrounding land for $9.1 million, made possible by a loan from the Virginia Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund. When the VCLF soon found itself unable to make payments on that loan, theCommonwealth of Virginia offered to manage the property as aVirginia State Park.[14][15]
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Natural Bridge State Park officially opened on September 24, 2016. As a state park, the property is owned and managed by theVirginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Visitors must purchase tickets to view the bridge from below, although the park's fees under state management are about half what had been charged under prior ownership.[14]U.S. Route 11 (Lee Highway) runs on top of the bridge, but protective fences make it difficult to see anything besides the roadway.
The state park includes several long-standing attractions, including the trail under the bridge along Cedar Creek and the 30-foot-tall (9.1 m) Lace Falls.[3][14] One change under state ownership was the removal ofFoamhenge, a full-size replica ofStonehenge made entirely out ofstyrofoam that was formerly located on the property. The attraction was moved toFairfax County after it was determined that the art installation did not fit with the state park's mission.[16]
The new state park was designated an "Affiliated Area" by theNational Park Service in 2016. The designation does not imply ownership or management by the federal government, though it does allow for their technical and financial assistance.[15][17]
