KING BRIDGES IN NEW YORK STATE

(An unsolicited report designed to help in the preservation of historic bridges)

Ó Allan King Sloan

November, 1999

The King Bridge Company of Cleveland, Ohio was founded by Zenas King in 1858 and produced bridges of iron and steel all over the country for the next 64 years. After Zenas died in 1892, his sons  James and Harry took over the Company’s direction until it ended operations in 1922. Zenas had the foresight to see that there was a nationwide need for iron bridges and that a well organized system of production and delivery was required to supply it. Before the fax and telephone, Zenas had set up a network of sales agents all over the country, armed with impressive catalogues, who would secure orders for bridges, mainly from town and county authorities. From the factory in Cleveland, component parts of the bridge structure were shipped by railroad to the building site where a local crew supervised by King’s agent would undertake the assembly.  In this way, by the mid 1880s the Company had produced over 5,000 bridges of all sizes and shapes, well over 200 in New York State alone, which was one of its largest markets. The Company became one of the largest and most active of the iron bridge builders during this period and its exploits in creating the nation’s transportation infrastructure are well known to bridge historians. One enthusiastic biography had the following to say about Zenas King; “What Bell is to the telephone, Morse to the telegraph, Fulton to the steamboat, and Goodyear to the vulcanized rubber industry, Zenas King is to the science of building iron bridges.”

  There were three distinct periods of bridge building in which the King Bridge Company participated:

 The Bowstring Era

 The first was during the 1860s and early 1870s when the bowstring truss, first fashioned by Squire Whipple and later improved upon by other bridge builders like Thomas Moseley and Zenas King, was very popular. It was a very efficient design, relatively easy to manufacture and ship to a site and assemble quickly, not expensive, and well suited to an era when crossing rivers and streams to connect two sides of a mill town or provide easy access to new farm land was in great demand.

 The American Standard Era

 The second was the era in the mid 1870s through the 1880s and 1890s when a larger and stronger truss was needed to handle heavier loads on both the highways and railroads. The so called American Standard bridge became the structure of choice, modeled after the familiar trapezoidal designs patented by Warren, Pratt, and others. These could also be manufactured to set designs and shipped to building sites for local assembly.

The Large Bridge Era

 The third was the period beginning in the late 1880s and lasting until the 1920s, (before reinforced concrete became the material of choice for highway bridges), when larger, longer and more sophisticated spans were needed to cross large rivers and valleys. Engineers had developed the way to build cantilevered and suspension bridges, long viaducts, and movable lift and swing bridges. These were all required for the fast expanding railroad and highway networks. Zenas King had patented one of the first swing bridges which became a model for many large bridges needed to allow water navigation under major land travel corridors. In this last period, the Company often collaborated with other engineering and construction firms in joint ventures, with King focusing on the iron and steel fabrication and construction.

 While most of the bridges built between the Civil War and World War I have long since been replaced there remain a few examples of King bridges from each of these eras in various parts of New York State. Some of these bridges are still in use either for their original purpose to carry vehicular traffic or preserved and limited to foot traffic while others are abandoned and hidden away to rust.

 Late in 1998, I began an effort to track down any remaining King bridges, to visit them, and to determine their current status. Many of these have been recorded from time to time by the State Department of Transportation and the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation  and some (now gone) were recorded on the inventory of the Historic American Engineering Record in Washington. With a new emphasis on preservation of historic structures now contained in The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) passed by the U. S. Congress in 1998, there may be an opportunity to reexamine these old bridges to determine if and how they might be saved, protected, and enhanced within the spirit of this new legislation. To date, most assessments of the historic importance of an old bridge had to do with its structural characteristics, site location, and aesthetic qualities. To these should be added the importance of the designers and builders of these structures -- just as the signature on an old painting or the name of the architect of an old building adds to its historic importance.

 The following is a  list of the King bridges turned up in this quest with my assessment of their situation and possibilities with the hope it can be of use to those State and local officials and citizens interested in preserving these pieces of important U.S. transportation history. Old bridges are among those historic “collectibles” which require a strong and dedicated local champion to insure their preservation and maintenance. The intent of this report is to help arm these potential champions with additional information needed to justify their preservation.

 In this quest, I have been aided by a number of fellow bridge enthusiasts, including Bill Chamberlin of Schectatady, Jim Stewart of Churchville, and Raymond Smith of the Historic Preservation Field Office of the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, plus a number of State and County engineers who have taken an interest in preservation of old bridges. There are also a number of historians in the towns in which old King bridges have been found who have helped in documenting these fine structures.

Five King Bowstring Bridges

 There are still at least five bowstring arch bridges built by the King Bridge Company still standing in New York State. Three of these are well preserved and still in use for  vehicular or foot traffic, while two others have been long abandoned and currently well hidden from public view. They are:

 1.      The Spile Bridge -- St. Lawrence County

 This bridge is a three span, 300 foot long tubular wrought iron bowstring built originally in 1874 using the Zenas King patent. It is still in use on the lightly traveled county road connecting the towns of Oswegatchie and Depeyster across the northern section of Black Lake. This bridge is probably one of the last examples of a three span bowstring which was built extensively by the King Bridge Company (then called the King Iron Bridge Manufacturing Company) in the 1870s in cities and towns all across the country. A number of these appear in the Company’s catalogue of 1876 in such places as Columbus, Ohio, Rockton, Illinois, Cumberland, Maryland, Topeka, Kansas, Waltham, Massachusetts, and Westfield, New York . A sister three span bowstring built one year later at Fort Laramie, Wyoming is the only other example of this type still standing. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and maintained by the National Park Service.

This bridge started its 125 year old career as part of a five span bridge crossing the Oswegatchie River in Ogdensburg connecting Fayette and Spring Streets. The three existing spans were moved to the present location in 1914 to replace an older wooden structure known as the Spile bridge. The bridge is owned jointly by the towns of Oswegatchie and Depeyster. Today it still carries vehicular traffic limited to three tons on a modern steel grill roadway and is maintained by the County. Until a few years ago, each of the three spans had builders plates describing the  patents under which the bridge was built, but these have disappeared.

 Historical Importance

 In addition to being a unique example of a very important bridge design which is still in use and thus accessible to see, touch and admire, the Spile Bridge has special significance for the King family. Zenas, the founder of the King Bridge Company, grew up in Depeyster where he went to school and worked on his father’s farm which was located at Kings Corners, not far from the bridge site, until he move to Ohio in 1840. His family along with that of his wife, Maranda Wheelock, were among the first settlers of Depeyster and played an important part in the towns development. Many of the Kings and Wheelocks are buried in Purmont Cemetery, almost in view of the bridge site. It was certainly fitting that the town fathers of Depeyster decided to finance the replacement of their old bridge in 1914 with one built by a native son.                                                                                   

The story of the bridge has been well documented in the History of St. Lawrence County (p177) and in newspaper articles of the era. The New York State Historic Trust surveyed the bridge in 1968 and noted that it was worthy of national landmark status. In addition, the St. Lawrence-Eastern Ontario Commission surveyed the bridge for its historic site inventory in 1976.

 The Future

While the bridge is well known to those with an interest in the history of old bridges and in the locality, its relatively remote location on a back country road means that the general public is not aware of its existence and importance. (I spoke to the manager of the Eel Weir State Park, located at the northern end of Black Lake about a mile or so from the bridge who said he had never seen it.) There is only one house located at the Depeyster end of the bridge, and the land side viewpoints for the bridge are on private land and not particularly “viewer friendly” although the whole site is very picturesque. At a minimum, a designation as a national historic site should be sought by local authorities.  Beyond this, the bridge could be a feature of an improved lake front access program, perhaps involving an easement along the northern edge of the lake from the Eel Weir State Park to the bridge to open up this lovely stretch of the lake for hikers and bikers with a terminus with picnic areas at the bridge . Such a program might be financed in part through the Transportation Enhancement Program operated by The State Department of Transportation.

2.      The Beech Road Bridge in Newfield, Tompkins County

This 54 foot bowstring is typical of many bridges built by the King Bridge Company in the 1870s often to connect two parts of a town across and important stream or river. It is unique in that it still had the plate for the King Iron Bridge & Mfg. Co (as the Company was called in the 1870s) with the notation of an “E & F & Z King Patent”. It crosses the West Branch of the Cayuga Lake inlet which cut a deep ravine through the center of the village and was a mill race in an earlier time. It is also crossed by a well maintained wooden truss bridge which is a town landmark.  

The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic some years ago but was rehabilitated in 1972 for pedestrian use. It is now a major route connecting the northern side of the village with the town school on the  south. While it was previously owned by the County, title has now been turned over to the Town along with subsequent maintenance responsibilities.

 In 1995, Historic Ithaca and Tompkins County, the local historic association, considered the bridge for placement on the National Register of Historic Places and prepared a draft of the registration form which was not submitted at that time. Given the fact that Newfield is one of the few towns in the State which had two historic bridge structures in good condition, the revival of the National Registration application might be in order. This could allow for the Beech Road bridge to receive some funds for its refurbishing and maintenance under the Transportation Enhancement Program. The simple maintenance of the bridge (painting, touch up, brush cutting) and its approaches might well be an interesting project for the high school students who use the structure every day -- a kind of “adopt the bridge” program.

 3.      The Stuart Road Bridge in Chili Mills, Monroe County

 This lovely bowstring was built by the King Bridge Company in 1877 across Black Creek at Chili Mills and has served this site ever since. It is in the fortunate position of being adjacent to and an integral part of the Chili Mills conservation area, a New York State Historic Site,  which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The Chili Mills Historic District consists of eight  structures which were once part of a complex of mills and other buildings dating from 1811. A number of these have been  restored by the Wilcox family who purchased the mill property in 1965. The complex serves as a museum for an important era in industrial history and, along with the mill pond and the bridge, offer the visitor a delightful view of a 19th century environment. The bridge, which is now closed to vehicular traffic, is on a town road which bisects the mill property . Due to the efforts of the Wilcox family, the bridge, the oldest in Monroe County, has had a champion to oversee its continuing survival.

At present, the Town of Chili and the Monroe County Department of Transportation are preparing to propose that the bridge also be included as an historic site, since it plays an intergral role in the charm and function of this important area. There is some debate as to whether the bridge needs to be strenghtened so that it can be reopened for vehicular traffic. This would insure its maintenance by the highway authorities well into the future.

4.      The King Bridge in the Elmwood Cemetery, Schachticoke, Rensselaer County

There is an old bridge well hidden among the trees. Can you find it?  It was built by the King Bridge Company, probably in the 1880s and was inventoried by the Division of Historic Preservation of the State Department of Parks and Recreation in 1976. It is owned by the Elmwood Cemetery Association and was once used to access the main entrance to the Cemetery across Mill Hollow Brook. There are no plan by the current owner to restore it, but there is a proposal to remove the bridge to a site near Albany Airport and restore it there as part of the reconstruction of the Old Shaker Village.

 5.      The Island Bridge off Main Street, Canton, St. Lawrence County

 This is a 1870s vintage King bowstring, perhaps one of three spans the Company listed in its 1876 catalogue. It is near the Main Street bridge crossing the Grasse River and is located behind a building supply store it connects to one of the islands in the river. It has been long abandoned, but the town is exploring ways of using it as part of a program to rehabilitate the river islands.

 King Bridges of the American Standard Era

 After the bowstring bridges became less of the fashion in the late 1870s and 1880s, the King Bridge Company began to build more of the American Standard type of bridge. Actually many if not most of the King bridges built in New York State were of this type, like the Roaring Mill Bridge across the AuSable River in Essex County pictured below before it disappeared in the early 1980s. 

King bridges of this type used to exist in East Branch (Delaware County) across the Delaware River, the Rorig Bridge in Westfield (Chautauqua County),  in Palmyra (Wayne County), in Phoenicia (Ulster County), in Buffalo (Erie County) built for the N.Y., L&W Railway, and in other locations all over New York State as well as throughout the nation.

 This quest has turned up only two remaining of this type still standing (in some form) as of the end of 1999:  The Town Line Bridge in Arcadia, Wayne County and

 The East Town Line Bridge in Arcadia, Wayne County

The King Bridge Company catalogue of 1884 lists two bridges as having been built in the Arcadia- Palmyra area across Ganargua Creek. One of these bridges was documented in a publication of the Wayne County Historical Society in the 1970s. The excerpt is reprinted below:

 This bridge has disappeared, but the second bridge known as East Town Line Road Bridge is apparently the one shown in the series of pictures taken over a twenty-year period from 1978 to 1998 on the following page. This is a testament  to the fate of old iron bridges which do not have a local sponsor to champion their upkeep.

 This bridge is located not far from the Aldrich Change Bridge in Macedon-Palmyra Creek, an 1858 Whipple bowstring, which is being rehabilitated at a cost of $232,000 to become part of the New York State Heritage Trail system on a site over the old Erie Canal. Hopefully, the old East Town Line Bridge might receive some consideration by  local community interests for the same kind of treatment.

Railroad Bridges built by the King Bridge Company

By the 1890s, a number of changes had taken place in the King Bridge Company. By the time Zenas died  in 1892, he had transferred the presidency of the Company to his eldest son, James A. King. With the great expansion of the nation’s railroad network and with the creation of larger and more ambitious bridges, the Company began to change direction by putting more emphasis on bidding for larger and more sophisticated projects, not only bridges but also the steel framing for factories, shopping arcades, grandstands, and even an observatory (the dome of the Yerkes Observatory in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin was built by the Company in 1895 and is still in operation). The skills of the  civil engineers hired by the Company were  featured in the sales catalogues in place of Zenas King’s  early patent designs. All of this put the Company among the forefront in bridge building technology and marketing. 

Swing bridges, draw bridges, viaducts, and steel girder bridges were built for railroads all over the country, and there are four examples still standing in New York State.

Zenas’s early patent for a swing or turntable bridge probably put the Company in a good position to successfully bid on requests for this kind of structure required by the railroads and highway departments to cross navigable rivers and canals. The Company built at least two such bridges in New York City in the 1890s, the 265 foot long bridge across the Harlem Ship Canal at Knightsbridge Road, and a 389 foot span across the Harlem River  for the New York and Hartford Railroad in 1895.

The HOJACK bridge across the Genesee River is probably the only example  of a King built railroad swing bridge still standing in the State and one of the rare ones of this vintage anywhere  in the country. (The only other example may be the Center Street Bridge in Cleveland, which is a designated national landmark).  Despite its  importance in railroad and civil engineering history, the future of the HOJACK  bridge is in doubt. However, the Rosendale Viaduct, another major King Bridge product of the end of the 19th century appears to be safe at least for the next few years.

 In the early years of the 20th century, the Company also produced steel girder bridges for the railroads. They were particularly useful in transporting rail lines across busy city streets. A number of these are still in active use today. While not as visually imposing as the other types of bridges, they are none the less important pieces of our existing urban infrastructure.

The HOJACK Swing Bridge in  Charlotte (Rochester), Monroe County

In 1905, the King Bridge Company was retained by the New York Central Railroad to provide a swing bridge across the Genesee River to replace an older and smaller bridge in order to provide access across the river for a number of rail services which used this route along the southern shore of Lake Ontario.

 After many years of service, the bridge was finally retired in 1993 by CONRAIL, the last of its owners, and most of  the remaining connecting rail lines on both sides of the river were abandoned in 1996. It was left in its open position to allow free navigation of boats moving in and out of the river to the lake. At present, there is a debate about the future of the bridge among the various interested parties.

 The Situation

 One of the conditions for the abandonment of the railroad services that used the bridge was that CONRAIL guarantee that the bridge would be preserved with enough maintenance to prevent it from falling into the river. This was at the request both of the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for historic reasons and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers which was concerned with river and lake pollution resulting from possible dismantling of the bridge.

The City of Rochester and Monroe County have been interested in acquiring the rail rights-of-way for use as biking -hiking trails, but neither of the local governments has wanted the responsibility for owning and maintaining the bridge.

 However, the bridge sits as the centerpiece of an area which is one of  the most important recreational centers in the region. In addition to the marinas and restaurants on the inboard side of the bridge, there is a large park and lakefront beaches on the outboard side. According to the marina operators with whom I spoke, the bridge does not serve as a hazard to navigation at the moment. Indeed, it acts as navigational beacon for boats entering the river from the lake.

 The City of Rochester is currently undertaking a study to make a long range plan for the area which includes a program for development of a ferry terminal to revive high speed service across the lake to Toronto. Apparently the location of the terminal will be key in determining the fate of the bridge.

 Historic Significance

In addition to the recreational role of the area, there is a  tradition of historic preservation in Charlotte, the community which sits on the west side of the Genesee. It is the location of the second oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes which was saved from demolition a few years ago by the effective lobbying of the students of Charlotte High School and is now on the National Historic Register. The old railroad station as well as the bridge are on the preservation agenda for those interested in railroad history. There may be justification to  treat the whole area as one of historic significance, in much the same way that the lakefront city of Cleveland treated the mouth of the Cuyahoga River as it empties into Lake Erie. There the city aided in the transformation of this once  decrepit industrial area into an entertainment and industrial historic area, using the old bridges an key features of urban sculpture, illuminated at night in a spectacular display. The HOJACK bridge might well be used in such a way, as an important piece of historical industrial sculpture.

 But the fate of the bridge must await the key decisions of the City fathers as to the future development of the entire area. Hopefully, the many citizens of the Rochester area interested in the preservation of railroad and industrial artifacts will make their voices heard in the debate. Stay tuned.

 The Rosendale Viaduct in Rosendale, Ulster County

The King Bridge Company catalogue of 1898 (see facing page) contains a picture of a viaduct across Esopus Creek  in Rosendale which was built in 1895 for the Wallkill Valley Railroad to replace an earlier bridge built by the Watson Engineering Company in 1870. The viaduct played a vital role in the operation of the old Wallkill Valley Railroad which operated as an alternative to the New York Central’s West Shore Line well into the 1970s. It ran from Campbell Hall in Orange County to Kingston in Ulster County and served both as a route for passenger trains bringing tourists to the eastern Catskills and for freight, which included the important cement industry in Rosendale. The building of the New York State Thruway made it hard for the railroad to continue in operation, and all service on it was abandoned in 1976, after CONRAIL had absorbed the lines of the  preceding owners. The interesting history of this railroad has been well documented by Carleton Mabee in his book, Listen to the Whistle, (Purple Mountain Press Ltd., 1995) in which the following photo appears.

 However, this 925 foot viaduct is still there, converted for pedestrian use  as part of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. This is thanks to the effort of a private individual, John Rahl, a railroad enthusiast who purchased the structure and eleven miles of adjacent rail bed from CONRAIL for the spectacular price of one dollar (plus some additional expenses). 

The bridge is in good condition and has been equipped with wooden planking and rails so that pedestrians can walk out onto the bridge to partake of the  spectacular views across this picturesque valley. This is a unique asset to the charming community of Rosendale, now becoming a popular escape for New York City’s artistic community. Hopefully, the owner and the community will be able to safeguard its future.

Railroad Girder Bridge in Auburn

 The King Bridge Company built a number of beam girder bridges for railroad companys all over the country like this bridge built in 1912 for the New York Central (now the Finger Lakes Railway) in Auburn. It is hardly a notable structure from an aesthetic point of view -- nestled under the wall of a State Correctional facility and visible from a parking lot. However, it proudly displays a King Bridge plate which can be admired by those waiting to unlock their car.

 Railroad Girder Bridge in Rochester

 There is another steel girder bridge built by the King Bridge Company in 1918 across Brown Street in Rochester which is in active use by the CSX railroad along with a number of other bridges built by colleagues and competitors. These include the American Bridge Company, the Detroit Bridge Company, the Phoenix Bridge Company of Pennsylvania, and Bethlehem Steel -- fine neighbors  for one of King Bridge’s last structures.

 Lift Bridge in Piermont, New York

 This bridge built in 1890 crosses an inlet from the Hudson River once used for barge traffic. When the new highway bridge was built, the King Bridge was left in place and is now used as part of a hiking/biking path system. It is one of the only remaining lift bridges of this particular design.