US-41 Fanny Hooe Creek Bridge

Information and Findings From Michigan Historic Sites Online

Narrative Description

Located about a mile east of Copper Harbor, this small-scale arch bridge spans Fanny Hooe Creek on US-41. This crossing is situated immediately adjacent to Fort Wilkins State Park, almost at the end of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The structure is comprised of a 25 foot, filled spandrel concrete arch with an elliptically shaped continuous arch ring over a concrete foundation. The bridge's endwalls feature decoratively placed fieldstones, laid with grapevine mortar joints. Similar stonework is used for the parapet walls that flank the asphalt roadway. A series of four paneled concrete bulkheads and a concrete coping is built onto each parapet; these extend below the roadway level to form pilasters along the sidewalls. Built in 1927-1928, the Fanny Hooe Creek Bridge is unaltered and in excellent condition.

Statement of Significance

Soon after passage of the State Trunk Line Act in 1913, a north-south route across the western end of the Upper Peninsula began to coalesce. Designated across Keweenaw, Houghton, Ontonagon and Gogebic counties, it linked the major east-west trunk line across the Peninsula with the Peninsula's extreme northern tip at the Keweenaw Peninsula. Parts of this trunk line were incorporated into U.S. Highway 41 and 45. During the late 1910s and 1920s MSHD improved the road, regrading and rebuilding segments and building new bridges. One of these latter structures was constructed by the department over Fanny Hooe Creek near the road's northern terminus. MSHD engineer delineated the Fanny Hooe Creek Bridge in the summer of 1927, designated it Project No. MB-1 of 42-3-2. In August the department awarded a contract to build the bridge to the Keweenaw County Road Commission. The Fanny Hooe Creek Bridge was completed in the summer of 1928 at a cost of $8,132.02. "After one sees the masonry work on this bridge they will agree that the art work of the stone mason has not been entirely lost," stated MSHD engineer George Tramp. Since its completion, the bridge has functioned essentially unaltered condition. Although its 25 foot concrete arch is technologically unadventurous, the Fanny Hooe Creek Bridge is distinguished for its decorative stonework -- an aesthetic treatment not usually associated with Michigan highway bridges. The use of stonework is probably attributable both to the scenic nature of the highway through Keweenaw County as well as the craftsmanship of the county road commission. Michigan's northernmost bridge, the Fanny Hooe Bridge is historically significant as an integral, well-preserved part of this important Upper Peninsula artery.