Skip to main content

Travel New England: Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge

Image
By

 


Nestled in the town of Simsbury, Connecticut is a rather unique bridge that crosses some 18 feet over the Farmington River. That bridge is the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge. Built in 1892 by J.E. Buddington of New Haven, Connecticut, this old metal truss bridge is 183 feet in length and has served various types of transportation modes throughout its history. In fact, it is one of only three Parker through truss bridges that remain in the State of Connecticut. While people had crossed the Drake Hill Road bridge for decades, whether it be with a horse and buggy or a car, I'm not sure that people from earlier generations could have imagined the current chapter of this bridge's life.

While a modern two lane bridge was opened just to the north of the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge in 1992, the old bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Given its status as a historic bridge, the old bridge remained in use for pedestrians and bicycles. Then in 1995, the bridge was restored at the cost of $575,000, with 80% of the cost being handled through federal transportation grants.

Today's chapter in the life of the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge got its start in 1996, when the idea came about to beautify the bridge in the spirit of the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts. The community has come together to place a total of 118 floral arrangements along the sides of the bridge, including 72 flower boxes, 32 hanging baskets and 14 border Column Baskets and Cottage Gardens, which are planted and maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers. The flower boxes on the bridge are replaced by local high school students.

In 2019, the bridge was temporarily closed for improvements. The Town of Simsbury added more parking, a pavilion for visitors, walking paths, and river access for launching watercraft. Plus there's opportunities to combine a visit to the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge for longer range recreation as well, since the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail passes near the bridge. I have passed by or checked out the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge a few times during my travels around the Constitution State. The photos below are from an August 2022 visit to the bridge.

The Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge brimming with flowers on a quiet late August afternoon.

Historic bridge plaque.

The bridge looks inviting for pedestrians exploring the bridge at any pace, even if it's just to smell the flowers.

East portal of the bridge.

The Farmington River, which runs from the Berkshires to the Connecticut River. Further upstream, you may find people tubing down the Farmington River, depending on the season.

A hanging basket.

Admiring the truss work of the bridge.

Stopping to smell the flowers.

Bridge plaques.

East portal of the Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge.

A parting side shot of the bridge.


How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Town of Simsbury Connecticut - The Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge
CTMQ - The Old Drake Hill Flower Bridge
Connecticut Explored - Saving a Bridge with Flowers
Bridgehunter - Drake Hill Road Bridge
Labels:
Location: Drake Hill Flower Bridge, Old Bridge Rd, Simsbury, CT 06070, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I-40 rockslide uncovers old debates on highway

By
The Asheville Citizen-Times continues to do a great job covering all the angles of the Interstate 40 Haywood County rock slide. An article in Sunday's edition provides a strong historical perspective on how the Pigeon River routing of Interstate 40 came about. And perhaps most strikingly, in an article that ran just prior to the highway's opening in the fall of 1968, how engineers from both Tennessee and North Carolina warned "...that slides would probably be a major problem along the route for many years." On February 12, 1969, not long after the Interstate opened, the first rock slide that would close I-40 occurred. Like many other Interstates within North Carolina, Interstate 40 through the mountains has a history prior to formation of the Interstate Highway System and was also a heated political battle between local communities. The discussion for a road that would eventually become Interstate 40 dates back to the 1940's as the idea for interregional high
2 comments
Read more

Mines Road

By
Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County.  The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte.  The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.  Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail).  La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora.  The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced from Bates Station owner/operator George Ba
Post a Comment
Read more