(Ed's note: this excerpt is from an Ohio history book, I'm modified with some pictures and relevance in our sketch, the Rash time in Zanesville, and their final move west to Illinois)
The most peculiar structure in the way of a bridge in Ohio is the Y Bridge, at the foot of Main Street, in Zanesville. The Licking River enters the Muskingum opposite of that point. The bridge in the middle of the stream parts the two divisions, one striking the west bank of the Muskingum, just above the mouth of the Licking at the locality called West Zanesville; and the other just below that mouth, at the locality called Natchez. Still farther down the Muskingum begins Putnam. All of these places are now included in Zanesville. On each of these streams, Muskingum and Licking, just before the junction, are falls of eight or ten feet, and long noted as mill sites. One always hears the roar of the waters.
The first graphic above is oriented with north on top. Below, a postcard of the original bridge. In the background is Putnam Ridge, the left portion of the bridge goes eastward towards Zanesville and the right aft portion is the National Road heading towards Columbus. This view is looking southeastwards from the western shore abeam of the falls on the Muskingum.
The Y Bridge is on the line of the National
Road. It seemed like an old bridge, built very early in the 1800s by the
Buckinghams and Sturges, and long used as a toll bridge. With a solitary
exception it is said to be the only Y bridge in the country (This is written in
the late 1800s). It is a huge, covered affair, very broad and brown, with
a few small windows for outlooks. It has in it enough material to make two
or three modern bridges. It was over this bridge that in June, 1865, at
the close of the war, Sherman's army wagons passed on their way from Washington
for distribution to frontier posts. They occupied several weeks in going
through Zanesville. The bridge is well maintained.
In 1830, farmers who came to town from the eastern part of
the country told about gangs of men with iron hammers breaking limestone into
three-inch pieces for the National Road. In the decade from 1831 to 1840, the
National Road carried the products of Muskingum County farms and factories to
the large cities of the East.
As Joseph Rash, John Weigand, Casper Hagel and Sebastian Geisler and their families depart for Illinois in 1853, I'm sure the last crossing of this historic landmark remained in their memories of their first decades in America. Onward and westward, the promise of better land at lower prices in Brown County, Illinois. On on side note, a small town just to the west of Zanesville is called Mount Sterling. The mileage marker below clearly shows 'M. S. 5' indicating Mount Sterling 8 miles west of Zanesville, which, coincidentally, is the destination of the Rash family in Illinois. They still had hundreds of miles to cover and weeks of travel.
Leborius (until around 1867), Teresa and Philip remain behind in Zanesville. They may have seen Sherman's Army, as depicted above, enroute to the 'West'.
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Modern View Of Y Bridge - Above, Muskingum River flowing south with Licking joining from the west. Below, looking westward toward the Licking, the Muskingum flowing from the right under the railroad bridge. The National Road veers left at the Y on the way to Indiana. |
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The falls on the Muskingum just north of the Railroad bridge at sunrise. |
