Mebane's Bridge

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Mebane’s Bridge, also called Fishing Creek Bridge or Mebane’s Folly, is a single‑lane concrete road bridge in Eden, North Carolina. It crosses the Dan River near where Fishing Creek meets the river and was built in 1924.

Why it was built
A businessman named Benjamin Franklin Mebane Jr. wanted a new crossing to connect Spray and Draper with land he owned on the far side of the Dan River, where he planned to build a chemical plant. He helped push for the bridge and influenced local officials to support the project.

Construction and cost
The Luten Bridge Company from Knoxville built the bridge for about $39,670, and the total cost ended up around $44,000. The bridge has three arches, each about 105 feet long, and was originally a one‑lane crossing. The approaches were unfinished at first, so the bridge stood somewhat isolated for a time.

Political controversy
The project sparked a big local fight. Opponents accused it of cronyism and waste, arguing the county couldn’t afford it. Despite opposition, the bridge was completed, and the county later faced lawsuits and political pressure over who should pay for it. The dispute became famous enough to be studied in contract‑law cases.

Later history
For many years after it opened, the road connections to the bridge were never finished, so people used the crossing mainly on foot. Dirt roads were added in 1935 and paved in 1968, and the bridge was renamed Mebane’s Bridge. It was closed to road traffic on November 23–24, 2003.

Legacy
Today the bridge is often called Mebane’s Folly and is remembered as a notable local political and legal story. It’s also cited in discussions about the duty to mitigate damages in contract law.