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    New Jersey's Covered Bridges
    New Jersey's Covered Bridges
    New Jersey's Covered Bridges
    Ebook168 pages1 hour

    New Jersey's Covered Bridges

    By Richard J. Garlipp Jr.

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    In the 18th and 19th centuries, covered bridges dotted the landscape of New Jersey, providing safe passage to travelers. Forty-five covered bridges once crossed waterways in all corners of the state. Perhaps the most extraordinary examples of these wooden bridges were found along the western border, crossing the Delaware River into neighboring Pennsylvania. These bridges were feats of construction and engineering but were ultimately unable to prevent the inevitable fate of almost all the covered bridges of the state, namely ice, floods, and fire as well as the development of new materials and technology. Today, only one covered bridge survives in New Jersey. The Green Sergeant s covered bridge in Hunterdon County was constructed over the Wickecheoke Creek in 1872 and has stood the test of time. New Jersey s Covered Bridges showcases the rich transportation history of these structures and pictorially honors the lost ones.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateMar 10, 2014
    ISBN9781439644676
    New Jersey's Covered Bridges
    Author

    Richard J. Garlipp Jr.

    Richard J. Garlipp Jr. is a longtime member of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. A retired educator, he has visited many covered bridges in New England and elsewhere. A New Jersey native, he collects photographs of covered bridges and is displaying them within the pages of New Jersey�s Covered Bridges. In addition, he gathered images from state historical societies and other collections.

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      Book preview

      New Jersey's Covered Bridges - Richard J. Garlipp Jr.

      designs.

      INTRODUCTION

      At some point in time, travelers in many areas of the United States may glimpse an unfamiliar wooden structure standing alone alongside the highway. At first sight, it is probably thought to be a barn, but upon further review, it appears to be a barnlike structure crossing a stream or small river like a bridge. A bridge. A covered bridge! Then, with the speed of the highway, it vanishes into the distance.

      Often, this quick encounter with history is forgotten or mentioned as a curiosity as the traveler recounts the more elaborate points of interest observed or visited on the trip. Occasionally, however, this moment instills a question that requires more information. Asking a local resident about that unusual wooden structure, or perhaps even researching the unfamiliar term covered bridge may bring some sense of awareness and satisfaction.

      Speaking with a local resident normally reveals the great pride a town possesses for its covered bridge. And use of the Internet quickly indicates the large number of covered bridges that existed, the important historic roles they played, and the widespread disappearance of these structures.

      All of this is especially true within the state of New Jersey, unlike neighboring or not-so-distant states like Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire, which all today still boast a fair number of covered bridges to visit and appreciate. Even though many have vanished, New Jersey can direct visitors to one extant covered bridge!

      The Green Sergeant’s Covered Bridge, crossing the Wickecheoke Creek near Flemington and three miles from the Delaware River, is the subject of a story so often repeated throughout the counties and towns of New Jersey.

      Built in 1872 (or 1867, by some accounts), this bridge took the Sergeantville-Rosemont road across the creek in a picturesque valley. The original bridge at the site, named for the son of the builder, Charles Sergeant, was washed away in a flood in the mid-19th century and replaced by the current bridge. Successful in its role for many years, the bridge was badly damaged when an overweight truck attempted to cross it. The headline in New York’s Herald Tribune of January 15, 1960, read, Last of covered bridges in Jersey shut to traffic. Only the determination of the Green Sergeant’s Covered Bridge Society, a community grassroots group of local citizens, saved the structure. The bridge was dismantled and rebuilt with steel supports below to allow greater loads to cross. Next to the restored covered bridge, an open concrete bridge was built to handle one direction of traffic. A stone marker near the bridge tells its story: In 1961, as a result of the efforts of an aroused group of citizens, the State of New Jersey, using the materials of the original covered bridge, fully restored this link with the past.

      Briefly, this is the history of one covered bridge in the state of New Jersey, but the story was repeated again and again throughout the regions of the state. Unknown or little-known names like Dennisville, Dividing Creek, Crosswicks Creek, Three Bridges, Salem, and Tuckahoe were unceremoniously replaced by iron, steel, and concrete, but with no effort to bypass and preserve the original structures.

      Or nature can wreak havoc before the progress of humankind even enters the equation. An example in point was the beautiful Centre Bridge crossing the Delaware River at Stockton, New Jersey. Opened in 1814, this toll bridge was located between the two existing covered bridges up- and downriver. With some repairs and redesign work being done early on, the bridge served the people well. But then it was nature’s turn. An ice-choked river flood in 1841 took out three of the six spans of the bridge. Repairs immediately followed, and the bridge was raised six feet higher over the Delaware. A major flood in 1862 did not cause serious damage, and the bridge remained open. Again in 1903, Centre Bridge survived a huge ice flood that damaged or destroyed river crossings between Phillipsburg and Trenton. Only two years later, a major fire in Stockton, which burned many structures, was stopped right at the bridge portal. Some two decades later, another fire inflicted some damage but was repaired. Then nature finally wrapped up its assault. One evening in the summer of 1923, lightning struck the bridge, and the resulting fire completely destroyed Centre Bridge. Only the stone piers remained, and the bridge was never rebuilt until 1927, then owned by the Delaware River Joint Commission. Ferries were used again for crossing.

      Forests were abundant in the early years of the state. Roads began to be planned out, often using the original Native American trails. Creeks, streams, and rivers needed to be crossed. Simple stringer bridges were the first structures to allow quick and safe passage. Ferry companies were chartered to cross larger rivers, but with the increase in population and commerce, ferries became time-consuming and cumbersome. The early stringer bridges could handle only so much weight and volume. Longer, wider, and stronger bridges became necessary. This ushered in the era of the major bridge builders and the truss designs to accomplish this task.

      In Hunterdon County, the freeholders began to levy taxes around the turn of the 19th century to build bridges over inland creeks and rivers. Road conditions, however, were very poor, and some companies were incorporated to build turnpikes and charge tolls that would be used for maintenance of these roads in all seasons, a provision which sometimes proved successful. But covered bridges were built not only in Hunterdon but also throughout the state. The actual number varies across different accounts, from 50 to 75, although 75 would be a difficult tally to authenticate. As significant as their contributions were to the history of bridge technology in New Jersey, covered bridges were not without inherent weaknesses that eventually made them defunct as stiffer, stronger bridge types requiring much less maintenance were developed.

      But New Jersey did have its covered bridges, and this little book will attempt to present and describe the photographs that illustrate this history. Chapter introductions will describe historically authenticated covered bridges for which no image has been found. Captions will describe the images accurately. Every effort has been made to offer a work as complete and interesting as possible.

      New Jersey is a wonderful place, full of life, diversity, and history. Please enjoy this particular aspect of its history: New Jersey’s Covered Bridges.

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