Mill Street Stone Arch Bridge

For other places with the same name, see Mill Street.
Mill Street Stone Arch Bridge

A brown and gray stone arch bridge just above a small cascade in a narrow creek with grass on one side and trees on the other. At the right is a blue-and-gold historical marker

Bridge from east, 2008
Coordinates 42°8′1″N 74°28′58″W / 42.13361°N 74.48278°W / 42.13361; -74.48278
Carries Mill Street
Crosses Birch Creek
Locale Pine Hill, NY, USA
Maintained by Town of Shandaken
Heritage status NRHP #96001439
Characteristics
Design Stone arch bridge
Material Stone
Total length 12 feet (3.7 m)[1]
Number of spans 1
Clearance below 7 feet (2.1 m)[1]
History
Constructed by Mattthew G. Thompson
Construction end 1897

The Mill Street Stone Arch Bridge is located on that street in Pine Hill, New York, United States. It is a small bridge over a local creek built around the turn of the 20th century. It is one of two stone arch bridges in the former village built by local stonemason Matthew G. Thompson. It has remained intact and in use since then, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It is located in the Pine Hill Historic District.

It is located on Mill Street just south of where it splits off from Bonnie View Avenue. The bridge is 12 feet (3.7 m) in length with its arch 7 feet (2.1 m) above the creek's waters. The neighborhood is residential and wooded. It is roughly 800 feet (240 m) west of the very similar Elm Street Stone Arch Bridge.[1]

Structurally, the bridge is a 12-foot–long (4 m) arch 7 feet (2.1 m) above the creek level, carrying the paved street. It is built of locally quarried stone using rough voussoirs with a central keystone, anchored in abutments of larger stone courses dressed to allow for tight mortar joints. The spandrel walls are of random coursed stone mortared in place.[1]

In 1897 the Shandaken Town Board approved the construction of the two bridges in Pine Hill. Three years later it hired local mason Matthew G. Thompson to build the bridge for $208 ($5,900 in contemporary dollars[2]). He employed construction techniques dating to the early 18th century, in which the abutments were built first on a small span, followed by a temporary wooden centering to support the arch. Its interior would be filled with earth or stone, and often waterproofed with coal tar or mortar on the inside of the stonework. On the exterior joints packed as tightly as possible prior to mortaring. The centering would be left in place until the mortar had completely set, which could take weeks.[1]

It is not known when Thompson completed the bridge. It has remained intact and unaltered since its original construction, and is currently maintained by the town.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bonafide, John (July 1996). "National Register of Historic Places nomination, Mill Street Stone Arch Bridge". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
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