Drawbridges

Drawbridges [3] were built in North Carolina prior to the American Revolution [4] for the purpose of crossing large rivers. At that time, ferries enabled colonial travelers and tourists to traverse deep water instead of traveling many miles inland looking for a shallow ford, and a floating bridge or barge-which could be swung aside to allow the passage of ships to plantations [5] above-could be used on narrow streams. Larger rivers, though, presented a greater problem.

The state's first drawbridge was built by Benjamin Herron [3] across the Cape Fear River [6] at Wilmington [7]. In 1774 a second bridge was constructed across the Cashie River at Windsor in Bertie County [8]. Drawbridges of that era were typically made of cypress timber, with the drawing mechanism consisting of "3 large iron hinges on each side"; the bridge was opened by "four iron chains and weights with iron sheaves and rollers at the heads of the posts." A few modern navigable waterways in North Carolina, notably the Intracoastal Waterway, are spanned at some point by a drawbridge.