1924 Wil-Cox Bridge Opening Photos

Earlier this month, I brought over the feature I did on the Wil-Cox Bridge on the old website to the blog. The seven arch concrete open-spandrel bridge opened in 1924 and was a key piece of the Central Highway. Recently, Ben Thurkill sent along a handful of photos from the bridge's 1924 opening. The five photos below are part of the NCDOT archives.

Today, the Wil-Cox Bridge is slowly becoming a center piece for a regional park. In August 2015, Davidson County Commissioners agreed to take over the bridge from the state. The state transferred the $2.5 million that would have been used to demolish the historic bridge to the county. Those funds are being used for bridge preservation and future development of the regional park. In 2016, Davidson County purchased nearly 14 nearby acres that included Fort York, a Confederate Fort built in the waning years of the Civil War. Davidson County intends on unveiling a master plan for the Wil-Cox Bridge, Fort York, and the regional park early in 2017.

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The Smithtown Bull in Smithtown, New York

Before I moved to Upstate New York as a young man, I grew up in the Long Island town of Smithtown during the 1980s and 1990s. The recognizable symbol of Smithtown is a bronze statue of a bull named Whisper, located at the junction of NY Route 25 and NY Route 25A near the bridge over the Nissequogue River. Why a bull, you may ask. The bull is a symbol of a legend related to the town's founding in 1665 by Richard "Bull" Smythe, with a modernized name of Richard Smith. It also so happens that there is a story behind the legend, one that involves ancient land right transfers and some modern day roads as well. So the story goes that Smythe made an agreement with a local Indian tribe where Smythe could keep whatever land he circled around in a day's time riding atop his trusty bull. Choosing the longest day of the year for his ride, he set out with his bull Whisper and went about riding around the borders of the Town of Smithtown. As legend has it, Smythe t

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