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Perrine's Bridge has
calm, historic atmosphere |
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Photo November 2004 |
<<=== Perrine's Bridge is the second oldest wooden bridge in the state. It is located in Dashville, just west of Esopus, and can be glimpsed from the northbound lanes of the New York Thruway |
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<<=== The
interior of Perrine's bridge shows vehicle paths, but the bridge has
been closed to vehicular traffic since 1930.
Photo November 2004
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ESOPUS — Highland resident Vivian Yess Wadlin recalls stepping with her father to visit Perrine’s Bridge during the late 1940s. Located in Esopus, the 138-foot, single-span structure crosses the Wallkill River. It was built in 1844 and is the second oldest covered bridge in New York State. “Many times, because it was on the way to Kingston, my father and I would pull off the road and walk across Perrine’s Bridge,” Yess Wadlin said. “It was always quiet and peaceful there.” Named for French Huguenot immigrant James Perrine, who owned a tavern near the bridge site, it served to connect the towns of Esopus and Rosendale. Constructed by Benjamin Wood at a cost of $2,200, the bridge features a Burr Arch Truss design, a combination of two large hemlock arches and multiple king posts. It is the last remaining Burr Arch Truss bridge in the state. Boasting a 16-foot, 6-inch height and a 12-foot wide interior, the bridge easily accommodated the era’s hay wagons and significant cargo traffic, which serviced nearby mills located along the river. “In the early years, some of the sideboards were missing so you could actually stand on the bridge and look out at the water,” Yess Wadlin recalled. “Sometime during the early 1970s it was repaired.” In fact, the bridge has undergone numerous restorations through the years. Its most recent occurred in the late 1990s at a cost of $195,000. Harvey Sleight was commissioner of buildings and grounds in Ulster County during the restoration and a huge supporter of the project. “We discovered the bridge was being undermined under its abutments and it was in imminent danger of falling into the Wallkill River,” Sleight said. “We felt it was such an invaluable antiquity for the county that to save it was just something we had to do immediately.” “Being a native of the area and one who believes our past is our future, I felt it would be unconscionable not to fix the bridge,” Sleight added. Closed to vehicular traffic in 1930, Perrine’s Bridge was declared a New York State Historic Site in 1966 and on April 13, 1973 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It continues to serve as a respite from the fast-paced traffic traveling by on the nearby New York State Thruway and remains a prized reflection of an earlier, and perhaps more tranquil, time.
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For more information about Perrine's Bridge, including photos which depict the Burr Arch and the King Posts, refer the article on Perrine's Bridge hosted by the Klyne Esopus Museum at http://www.klyneesopusmuseum.org/perrinesbridge.html |
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The rafters of the bridge roof have been restored ===>> Photo November 2004
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View from Perrine's Bridge of the Wallkill River looking towards the site of Dashville Falls, which were used by the sons of Archibald Russell to power their factories. The falls have disappeared into a dam used by Central Hudson to generate electricity. ===>> Photo November 2004
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| most recent revision:
12 November 2008. Description taken from Poughkeepsie
Journal, 12 Nov 2008 By Anthony Musso For the Poughkeepsie Journal November 12, 2008
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