Perrine's Bridge is the second oldest covered bridge in the

State of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...

, after the Hyde Hall Bridge in East Springfield. Once located in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

called Perrines Bridge between 1850 and 1861. It is located in the modern day town of Esopus- Rosendale, New York just a few hundred feet to the east of Interstate 87 crossing of the

Wallkill River The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed Oct ...

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

. Originally built to aid in the movement of trade between the towns of Rifton and Rosendale, the bridge is about 90 miles north of New York city between mile markers 81 and 82 on the New York State Thruway (Interstate 87). In May 1834 the State of New York authorized and provided money ($700) to Ulster county, NY (which invested $1500), to build the bridge. In 1835, the bridge was built by Benjamin Wood (b. 1780 d. 1838), the one-lane wooden

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

has been closed to vehicular traffic since 1930. The Bridge derives its name from James W. Perrine (b. 1780 d. 1849), a descendant of

Daniel Perrin Daniel Perrin (1642–1719) was one of the first permanent European inhabitants of Staten Island, New York. Known as " The Huguenot", he arrived in New York Harbor from the Isle of Jersey on July 29, 1665, aboard the ship ''Philip'', under the c ...

"The

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

", who was a

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

keeper that opened an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

on the east side of that future bridge in 1820. Perrine's son was hired each winter as the "snower". He would spread snow the length of the structure so horse-drawn sleighs could cross. ''Note:'' This includes an
''Accompanying photographs''
/ref> It was declared as a New York Historical site in 1966 and listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as of April 13, 1973. It has been restored many times, the last in 1997 at a cost of $195,000.

References

External links

Covered Bridges Site's Perrine's Bridge page
*

{{Hudson River Bridges completed in 1844 Bridges in Ulster County, New York Historic American Buildings Survey in New York (state) Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Ulster County, New York Bridges over the Wallkill River Former road bridges in the United States Pedestrian bridges in New York (state) Wooden bridges in New York (state) Rosendale, New York Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Burr Truss bridges in the United States

See also

References

External links