Lisbon - The Bicentennial Commission has selected a mural of an arched bridge located near Rte. 12 as the logo for the Bicentennial Celebration in 1986.

Bicentennial Commission President Richard Herrmann said the bridge is the oldest keystone bridge in America. The bridge was built of stone entirely by hand and without cement, he said. The bridge supports its own weight because it is constructed in the shape of an arch, Hermann explained.

Located in the Blissville section, the bridge is on what is the oldest stage coach road in America. The road was used by travelers going from Norwich to Providence, R.I. Later replaced by what is now known as Blissville Road, the stagecoach road remains in its original dirt condition.

Built before 1795, the bridge was on one of the two turnpikes running through Lisbon around that time. Tolls were gathered in a least three locations for people, vehicles and animals to pay for construction and repair cost.

Lisbon is fortunate to have two first located within her borders. A train tunnel documented as the oldest, public railroad tunnel on a railway line in the United States sits in the same area of town.

The tunnel has been used by the Fall Festival as its logo for the past four years. Constructed through a granite hill, the tunnel is odd because of its curved shape, according to Herrmann.

Construction was a chore for those days since it was hewn from the rock without benefit of modern machinery. Dynamite had not been invented and the work was done entirely by hand.

Completed in 1837, the cost was listed at $30,000 for the 300 foot long by 23 feet wide and 18 feet high tunnel.

A five by seven foot mural of the tunnel has been painted by Herrmann and is featured on a wall in the town hall. Herrmann also designed the logo used by the festival. The tunnel logo is used on the letterhead of all town stationery with the exception of the tax collector’s office.

Herrmann used regular white ceiling latex paint which he tinted with watercolors to paint the mural. He was aided in his efforts by an 1880 postcard depicting the tunnel and research of train engines used during the period when the tunnel was constructed.