1909 Swinging Footbridge, 1910 B&O and Road Bridges over Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, DE

Footbridge: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

B&O: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Road: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

Smallbones, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
3 bridges at the "Augustine Cut-off" in Wilmington, Delaware, from Brandywine Park. The smallest is a pedestrian suspension bridge in the park. The next bridge, a stone arch, is the CSX Brandywine River railroad bridge (built 1910 by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O)). The furthest away is the Augustine Bridge, a truss bridge built in 1885 for railroad use by the B&O, and converted to vehicular use in 1920. Brandywine Park encompasses the canyon of Brandywine Creek as it flows to tidewater - very historic place for water powered industry - designed in part by Fredrick Law Olmstead. The Park has been on the NRHP since December 22, 1976. The park (Historic District) is roughly bounded by Augustine, 18th, and Market Sts. and Lovering Ave. and is now considered to be park of "Wilmington State Parks."

Bob Dover posted

Brandywine Park occupies both sides of Brandywine Creek on the northeast side of downtown Wilmington, Delaware. The park abuts the Brandywine Village Historic District, which was the home of flour mills in the late 1700s. To support the flour mills, the creek within the park was developed into a series of historic weirs and mill runs. The area was preserved as a park in 1886, and includes the Brandywine Zoo, a historic rose garden, recreational facilities, and several bridges.

The most unusual of the bridges is the Brandywine Creek Footbridge, which was constructed in 1909. The bridge is a small-scale, pedestrian-only suspension bridge similar to mill bridges that are designated as “swinging” bridges, and that were used for workers to access their jobs at a mill operation. However, the bridge was constructed after the area had been designated as a park, and it is not clear that it ever served a mill operation.

Dennis DeBruler: We can also see a couple of the cut-stone piers of the CSX/B&O arch bridge that is just north of this one.

Bob Dover: Correct

This view allows us to see one of the arches of the B&O bridge. And we can see part of the footbridge down close to the river. This view also allowed me to determine that the road bridge was a deck truss bridge and worthy of researching.

Street View, Jul 2018

The bridge used cut stone for the piers, and the railroad is active.

"The bridge has two 80 foot spans, two 90 foot spans, and three 100 foot spans." [HistoricBridges_B&O]

Street View, Nov 2020

I was going to skip the road bridge until I saw a deck truss peeking through the arch in the first street view above. The stone piers also indicate that this bridge has more character than one can see from above.

The superstructure was built in 1980 on piers that were built in 1885. [BridgeHunter]

Street View, Nov 2020

This postcard shows the original 1885 superstructure. It appears to be pin connected.

Originally, the 1885 bridge was the B&O bridge. It got converted to vehicular traffic in 1920. [caption on a photo]

That conversion would have been an early part of the "good roads" movement in the 1920s.

Boston Public Library Flickr, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)

Where B & O R. R. crosses historic Brandywine River, at Wilmington, Del.

File name: 06_10_014477

Title: Where B & O R. R. crosses historic Brandywine River, at Wilmington, Del.

Date issued: 1930 - 1945 (approximate)

Physical description: 1 print (postcard) : linen texture, color ; 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.

Genre: Postcards

Subject: Rivers; Bridges

Notes: Title from item.

Collection: The Tichnor Brothers Collection

Location: Boston Public Library, Print Department

Rights: No known restrictions

More views of all three bridges.

Street View, Nov 2020

Street View, Jun 2023

This view of the road bridge was obviously taken from the footbridge.

BridgeHunter_road, Photo taken by Todd Wilson in 2009