Grants Mills Bridge

Grant Mills Bridge
Grant Mills Bridge
	South portal, 2008
Coordinates	42°04′49″N 74°38′12″W / 42.0804°N 74.6367°W
Carries	Pedestrians
Crosses	Mill Brook
Locale	Hardenburgh, NY, USA
Official name	Millbrook Bridge
Other name(s)	Marks' Bridge
Maintained by	Town of Hardenburgh
Heritage status	NRHP #98001538
Characteristics
Design	Town lattice truss covered bridge
Total length	69+1⁄2 feet (21.2 m)
Width	13 feet 10 inches (4.22 m)
Height	11 feet (3.4 m)
History
Constructed by	Edgar and Orrin Marks
Construction end	1902
Opened	1902
Closed	1964
Statistics
Daily traffic	n/a
Location

The Grant Mills Bridge, officially the Millbrook Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge over Mill Brook in Hardenburgh, New York, United States. It is one of 29 covered bridges in the state.

It was built in 1902 by a pair of local builders in the lattice truss design perfected early in the previous century by Ithiel Town. It was taken out of service in 1964 when Mill Brook Road was relocated a short distance to the south, but remains in excellent condition and is open to foot traffic. In 1999, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Structure

The bridge is located on the west corner of the junction of Mill Brook and Fred Davis roads a short distance east of the Delaware County line. The area is wooded, just under 1,900 feet (580 m) in elevation with the ground sloping gently to the northeast. It spans the brook, a tributary of the East Branch of the Delaware River that drains into New York City's Pepacton Reservoir, just to the west of a more modern bridge carrying vehicle traffic.^[1]

It is a single span, 69+1⁄2 feet (21.2 m) in length, supported by rough abutments of dry-laid fieldstone. Its superstructure incorporates the Town lattice truss design. Both chords and the diagonals, connected by wood pins at each intersection, are formed by heavy paired planks. Planks laid on stringers form the deck; alternating timbers protrude to create a series of four buttresses on the sides of the bridge. Vertical board sheathing on horizontal nailers constitutes the bridge's siding; the roof and buttresses are clad in wood shingles.^[1]

History

In 1902 the town of Hardenburgh awarded local carpenter Edgar Marks the contract to build a bridge over Mill Brook near the county line, a couple of miles below its headwaters on Balsam Lake Mountain. It would serve the small population of farmers and millers that lived in the remote valley.^[1]

With help from his son Orrin, he got to work hauling the stone and cutting the planks. He used the Town lattice truss, a reliable design for building a lasting bridge of this size from local materials. With the help of several other local craftsmen, the bridge was opened late that year.^[1]

It took its popular name from a mill two miles (3 km) to the west at the intersection of Mill Brook and what is now Kittle Road. Grant's Mill was often used in giving directions, as at that time the road was not maintained year-round. Marks called it the Lattice Bridge in his reports to the town; officials referred to it by his name.^[2]

It would later withstand and serve automobile traffic as well. When Mill Brook Road was realigned in 1964, the bridge was taken out of service. It remained in place despite the neglect. In the early 1990s Marks' descendants restored it.^[1] The town board renamed it the Millbrook Bridge in 2002, after it had been listed on the Register, to avoid further confusion.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Smith, Raymond (September 1999). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, Grant Mills Covered Bridge". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
^ ^a ^b Baker, Betty. Notice posted in bridge. December 2004.

External links

[NRHP_nom-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Smith, Raymond (September 1999). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, Grant Mills Covered Bridge". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved February 13, 2010.

[Bridge_notice-2] Baker, Betty. Notice posted in bridge. December 2004.

[1]

[2]

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in New York
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Albany Allegany Bronx Broome Cattaraugus Cayuga Chautauqua Chemung Chenango Clinton Columbia Cortland Delaware Dutchess Erie Essex Franklin Fulton Genesee Greene Hamilton Herkimer Jefferson Kings (Brooklyn) Lewis Livingston Madison Monroe Montgomery Nassau New York (Manhattan) Niagara Oneida Onondaga Ontario Orange Orleans Oswego Otsego Putnam Queens Rensselaer Richmond (Staten Island) Rockland Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Schuyler Seneca St. Lawrence Steuben Suffolk Sullivan Tioga Tompkins Ulster Warren Washington Wayne Westchester Northern Southern Wyoming Yates
Lists by city	Albany Buffalo New Rochelle New York City Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Manhattan Below 14th St. 14th–59th St. 59th–110th St. Above 110th St. Minor islands Niagara Falls Peekskill Poughkeepsie Rhinebeck Rochester Syracuse Yonkers
Other lists	Bridges and tunnels National Historic Landmarks New York City Outside New York City
Category List National Register of Historic Places Portal

Structure

History

See also

References

External links