BRIDGESPOTTING

Northwest of the Fall Line less than ten miles north of Trenton, New Jersey, a tour of the bridges on the upper Delaware River is a complete lesson in historic and interesting bridge types. There are more than 20 walkable bridges along almost 200 miles of river, most of them dating from before 1940. The valley where you will find most of the bridges is stunningly beautiful and rural. This portion of the Delaware River is the longest section of free-flowing river in the eastern United States, with almost no dams or reservoirs. Much of the area is owned and managed by the National Park Service, including the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River between Hancock and Port Jervis, New York, and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area between Port Jervis and Portland-Columbia. There are also multiple state parks encompassing historic canals on both sides of the river, offering former towpaths as lengthy, uninterrupted biking and hiking trails.

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I had previously posted photos and descriptions of the Lumberville-Raven Rock Bridge, and the Reigelsville Suspension Bridge, both of them historic, lovingly maintained, and decorated little suspension bridges connecting parks and villages on either side of the river. I also had posted photos of Washington Crossing, Kellams, Delaware Aqueduct, Calhoun Street, and Skinner's Falls-Milanville. I am now expanding the gallery to include photos of two more unusual and attractive bridges along the river.

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The Dingman’s Ferry Bridge connecting Sussex County, New Jersey and Pike County, Pennsylvania, is distinguished by its status as one of the last privately-owned toll bridges in the United States. The bridge, along with the adjacent 1803 stone Dingman house, is now owned by the Dingmans Choice and Delaware Bridge Company (DCDBC). The ferry and bridge at this location have been operated by only two small family businesses in the past 300 years. The DCDBC takes great pride in maintaining the structure of the bridge, as well as its appearance, which is prominent among the other historic tourist attractions in the area. The bridge is narrow, barely wide enough for a car to pass in each direction. It has no sidewalks and pedestrians are prohibited, but it still attracts tourists due to its history and picturesque location. There is a large parking lot provided on the Pennsylvania end and attractive signs display the names and dates of the house and the bridge. A quaint feature of the bridge is a small wooden tollhouse on the Pennsylvania end of the bridge that includes an extension of its roof covering both lanes of traffic.

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The Northampton Street Bridge connects Easton, Pennsylvania to Philipsburg, New Jersey. The location of the Northampton Street Bridge was one of the earliest and most durable bridge locations on the entire Delaware River. The Delaware Bridge Company was chartered by the state governments in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to build a bridge at Easton in 1795, making it the earliest charter for a bridge on the riverThe original 1806 wooden bridge was replaced in 1896 due to a general increase in traffic and plans to run electric trolleys between Easton and Philipsburg. The Northampton Street Bridge you see today is now more than 120 years old. It is not the oldest remaining bridge on the river, as Kellam’s Bridge at Hankins and Calhoun Street Bridge in Trenton date from the 1880s, and the Delaware Aqueduct dates from 1848. Northampton Street is, though, the most interesting and ornate bridge on the Delaware River.

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The structure type of the Northampton Street Bridge is not obvious. From the side, it looks like a normal eyebar chain suspension bridge, like the Three Sisters in Pittsburgh. It has two main towers sitting on piers in the middle of the river, the central portion of the superstructure drops through an arc between the towers, and vertical supports between the arc and the flat deck are evenly spaced across the bridge. The bridge type, however, is not suspension but a combination of a cantilever and steel through-truss. The arc is composed of eyebar chains, but the vertical composite girders and diagonal eyebar supports hold the arc up, rather than the other way around.

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The surprising and appealing feature of the bridge is the decoration of the towers and lampposts. Eyebar chains and composite girders are decorative wherever you find them because the individual components can be shaped into complex geometric patterns. Added to these are elongated, lattice-like finials on the tops of the towers. On the top chord over the middle of the roadway, a frieze displays gilded allegorical figures of Liberty and Prosperity on either side of a heraldic shield, which sits over a gilded plaque reading “1795-1895.” Another gilded plaque on the lower horizontal support shows the significance of these dates, with 1795 being the date of incorporation of the Delaware Bridge Company, and the bridge construction in 1895 marking the centenary of the company. The lampposts are nicely-shaped, frosted-glass globes sitting on decorative black iron bases. The bridge carries two lanes of traffic on a steel mesh deck and has wide sidewalks on both sides, outside of the truss.

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I spent quite a bit of time visiting the Delaware River bridges while researching my book, Bridgespotting: A Guide to Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times. There is a detailed description of a Delaware River bridge tour in Chapter 9 of Bridgespotting Part 2.