Skip to main content

The Capital Region's Whipple Bridges

Image
By
Squire Whipple is considered "the father of the iron truss bridge".  The civil-engineer's design for bowstring truss wrought and cast iron bridges revolutionized bridge building in the mid-19th century.  His 1847 book, "A Work on Bridge Building", is considered the "...first significant theoretical formula to calculate stresses in the articulated truss.' (1)

Most of Whipple's bridges were found along the Erie Canal as his bridge design replaced many older wooden structures.  Over time, Whipple's bridges could be found in single or multiple spans throughout Northeast and Midwest.

Whipple bowstring truss bridge at Vischer's Ferry. (Adam Prince - December 2006)
Four of Whipple's bowstring truss designs can be found in the Albany area of New York State.  The first was built and designed by Mr. Whipple and can be found off of Riverview Road in Vischer's Ferry.   The bridge was constructed in 1869 and crossed the enlarged Erie Canal at Sparkers.  Like many of the bridges built by Whipple or others using his design, this bridge was moved to Fonda in 1919.
The Whipple bridge connects to the Towpath Trail within the Vischer's Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve.  (Adam Prince - December 2006)
Squire Whipple was a graduate of Union College in Schenectady.  The former Sprakers and Fonda bridge would later be restored by students, faculty and friends of the college under the direction of Dr. Frank Griggs, Jr.  The bridge was moved to cross a remnant of the old canal at Vischer's Ferry in 1998.

Normanskill Farm Bridge. (Doug Kerr - December 2006)
A second Whipple bridge sits not far to the south in Albany County.  Located off of NY 443, the Normanskill Farm Bridge is a Whipple Bowstring design that was built by Simon de Graff.  Throughout the 1800's, many bridge builders would slightly modify Whipple's design in order to avoid paying royalties and patent fees to Mr. Whipple. (2)

The bridge was constructed in 1867 and moved to its current location in 1899.  The bridge is originally thought to have come from Schoharie County but it is not 100% certain.  This bridge was moved in order to carry the Albany and Delaware Turnpike over the Normanskill.  Today, the bridge serves as a pedestrian bridge that is occasionally used by vehicles near the site of the former Stevens Farm.

A third Albany area Whipple designed bridge is located on the campus of Union College.  It is part of a pedestrian walkway near the Achilles Rink.  A fourth Whipple bridge, the Shaw Bridge in Claverack is located in Columbia County and will hopefully be restored and returned to use for pedestrian traffic.  The Shaw Bridge is a rare double span bowstring truss and was constructed in 1870.  It is believed to be the only remaining double span Whipple Bowstring Truss in the country.

Sources:

Getting There:


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more