Swing Bridge, Jay Cooke State Park, Thomson Township, Minnesota

Edit with form
Swing Bridge
Location of Structure:	Jay Cooke State Park, Thomson Township, Minnesota
City/locality- State/province	Thomson Township, Minnesota
County- State/province:	Carlton County, Minnesota
State/province:	Minnesota
Country:	United States
Year built:	1934
Historic Function:	Bridge
Current Function of Structure:	Bridge
Part of the Site:	Jay Cooke State Park CCC/WPA/Rustic Style Historic District

Thomson Township Carlton County

Loading map...

{"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"auto","height":"350px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":false,"defzoom":14,"layers":["OpenStreetMap"],"image layers":[],"overlays":[],"resizable":false,"fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":true,"cluster":false,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clustermaxradius":80,"clusterspiderfy":true,"geojson":"","clicktarget":"","imageLayers":[],"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":46.63689860000000209083736990578472614288330078125,"lon":-92.3459031000000010180883691646158695220947265625,"icon":""}],"imageoverlays":null}

Swing Bridge, Jay Cooke State Park, Thomson Township, Minnesota
(46.6368986° N, 92.3459031° W)

Jay Cooke is famous for its rustic style historical structures. These structures were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) between 1933 and 1942. All the major landmarks in Jay Cooke are built with local basalt or gabbro stone and dark planks and logs.

History

Most famous of all landmarks is the swinging bridge, which is one of only two suspension bridges in any Minnesota state park. The bridge was designed by Oscar Newstrom and built by the CCC. It runs 200 feet (61 m) long, 126 of which run over the Saint Louis River itself. It is supported by two large concrete pylons also faced with gabbro. The bank of the river near the River Inn is too steep to walk along, so anyone who wishes to hike the length of the river generally must cross this bridge.

Three districts of the state park are in the National Register of Historic Places. These districts are the Rustic Style District, including the River Inn and Swinging Bridge; the Picnic District, including the shelter, water tower and latrine, and drinking fountain; and the Service Yard District, including the custodian's cabin and pump house.

Related Links

Minnesota DNR: Jay Cooke State Park]

Wikipedia: Jay Cooke State Park]

Wikipedia: Civilian Conservation Corps