Skip to main content

Rosemont Raven Rock Bridge over Lockatong Creek

Image
By


Located in Delaware Township, New Jersey, just outside of Stockton, is the Rosemont-Raven Rock Bridge, which spans 127 feet over Lockatong Creek. The Rosemont-Raven Rock Bridge has different names, such as Raven Rock Bridge and Lockatong Bridge, but I'm going with Rosemont-Raven Rock Bridge, as listed on the historical marker located next to the bridge itself. Built in 1878 at a cost of $2,800 of both cast iron and wrought iron, it is one of the earliest iron Pratt through truss bridges with phoenix columns in the United States.

This extremely rare and beautiful bridge ranks is a great example of early bridge design in New Jersey. It was built by the Lambertville Iron Works of Lambertville, New Jersey, which was a local company responsible for constructing bridges throughout Hunterdon County during the last quarter of the 19th century and run by William Cowin. The bottom lateral bracing on the bridge joins to a center ring, much like the Clinton, New Jersey bridge built in 1870, which was also constructed by the Lambertville Iron Works. But what makes the Rosemont-Raven Rock Bridge noteworthy in a historical sense is that it is a significant example of a bridge using rare Phoenix columns. The Phoenix columns are present on the vertical members and it is an extremely early example of a pin-connected Pratt through truss, having been built at a time when the bowstring truss was still a frequently selected form of metal bridge. The Rosemont-Raven Rock Bridge is a very beautiful bridge and includes a highly decorative builder plaque and decorative cast iron knee bracing at the portals, along with attractive lattice railings. In addition, the bridge includes decorative finials on top of each panel and connection point.

Today, Hunterdon County owns the classic bridge over Lockatong Creek and it was restored in 2014 at a cost of more than $2.1 million. As happenstance would be, I stumbled upon this bridge in January 2017 during a drive up the Delaware River area in New Jersey. So naturally, I had to stop and take a few photos.









How to Get There:


Sources and Links:
Raven Rock Bridge - HistoricBridges.org
Raven Rock Rosemont Road Bridge - Bridgehunter
Raven Rock Road Bridge - National Park Service
Bridge on Rosemont-Raven Rock Road opens with a ceremony - NJ.com
The Lockatong Bridge over Raven Rock Road, part one - Goodspeed Histories
The Lockatong Bridge over Raven Rock Road, part two - Goodspeed Histories
The Bridges of New Jersey - Stephen M. Richman (via Google Books)

Labels:
Location: Raven Rock Rosemont Rd, Delaware Township, NJ 08559, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Abandoned Fowler Avenue in Clovis, California

By
Originally Fowler Avenue in the city of Clovis had a brief discontinuation approaching Herndon Avenue.  Fowler Avenue traffic heading northbound was required to detour briefly onto westbound Herndon Avenue.  During 2001 this discontinuation was removed when Fowler Avenue was reconfigured to access the Sierra Freeway (California State Route 168) via an interchange.  This led to a segment of the original alignment of Fowler Avenue just south of Herndon Avenue to be abandoned.  Despite a shopping center opening over part of the original Fowler Avenue alignment in 2016 much of the abandoned roadway remains.   The history of the abandoned original alignment of Fowler Avenue in Clovis The original alignment of California State Route 168 departed downtown Clovis eastbound along Tollhouse Road.  This original alignment did not interact with Fowler Avenue at the Herndon Avenue intersection.  Fowler Avenue north of Tollhouse Road ran north to Herndon Avenue...
Post a Comment
Read more

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

By
  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...
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