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Horseford, Caldwell County

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Inventory Number: NC/33-14-01x / NC-18-02x
County: Caldwell County / Catawba County
Township:
Town/Village: Hickory
Bridge Name: Horseford
Crosses: Catawba River
Truss type:
Spans: 8 or more
Length:
Roadway Width:
Built: 1849-1852
Builder: Andrew L. Ramsour
When Lost: 1901
Cause: Flood
Latitude: N35 46.069
Longitude: W081 21.831
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: Northwest of Hickory.

Horseford Bridge, Catawba County, NC Built 1849-1852 Flood 1916
Catawba County Historical Association Archives (www.catawbahistory.org)

Comments:
A toll bridge was built at this location in 1849. The company wanted to draw mountain farmers and their livestock to trade in Hickory, Newton, Lincolnton and Dallas. The bridge opened in 1852 and was a privately-owned toll bridge for the next 50 years. Per Wilton E. Carter research, the bridge was built by Andrew Loretz Ramsour (his heirs later changed the surname to Ramseur). Ramsour was born 1817 and died 1906 in Catawba County North Carolina. Ramsour's business at the time was a saw mill and iron forge on the Caldwell County side of the river. He wanted access to the railroads that were coming into Hickory/Catawba County side at the time for his business interest as well. The name for the location appears to literally mean that the river could be forded readily by horses in low flow conditions. The abutments of the bridge are still visible in the impounded river. Per The Times-Mercury (Hickory), June 1, 1901, the Catawba Toll Bridge Co. had offered to donate the crossing site and existing piers, if the city or county would build a free bridge at the site (it had apparently been removed in the recent floods) and raise the height by six feet. The article identified much wrangling going on between differing factions for paying for the new bridge. An August 1, 1916 article in The Lenoir News explained that the bridge was paid for $1,500 from Caldwell County, $1,500 from Catawba County, $1,500 from the town of Hickory, and $300 from the town of Lenior. The bridge was washed away in the great flood of 1916. A replacement for Horse Ford was estimated at $16,000 for steel or $7,000 for wood. The commissioner stated that the previous bridge had stood 15 years. The covered bridge was replaced with an open span made of metal and concrete.

Sources:
The Lenoir News, August 1, 1916.
The Times-Mercury (Hickory), June 1, 1901.
Catawba County Historical Association