Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct
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| Delaware Aqueduct | |
|---|---|
 Delaware Aqueduct post-restoration by the NPS |
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| Carries | Motor vehicles |
| Crosses | Delaware River |
| Locale | Minisink Ford, New York to Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania. |
| Maintained by | National Park Service |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Total length | 535 feet (175 m) |
| Opening date | 1847 |
| Coordinates | 41°28′57″N 74°59′04″W / 41.482571°N 74.9844105°WCoordinates: 41°28′57″N 74°59′04″W / 41.482571°N 74.9844105°W |
Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct is the oldest existing wire suspension bridge in the United States; it runs 535 feet (175 m) from Minisink Ford, New York to Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania. It is also known as the Delaware Aqueduct, or Roebling Bridge. Begun in 1847 as one of four suspension aqueducts on the Delaware and Hudson Canal (D & H), it was designed by and built under the supervision of John A. Roebling, who would design the Brooklyn Bridge twenty years later. Portions of the D & H Canal, including the Delaware Aqueduct, were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968. The Delaware Aqueduct is also designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark. The aqueduct was used as a vehicular bridge until 1979; it was restored by the National Park Service in 1985 and is now part of the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.
The Delaware and Hudson Canal and Gravity Railroad was a system of transportation between coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania and markets on the Hudson River that operated from 1828 until 1898, with enlargements after the 1840s.
Two important local industries with conflicting needs brought about construction of Roebling's Delaware and Lackawaxen Aqueducts: canal traffic and timber rafting. Since the mid-1700s, timber from the Delaware valley had been floated down the Delaware to shipyards and industries in Trenton and Philadelphia. The D & H Canal operated a rope ferry crossing of the Delaware at Lackawaxen but it created a major bottleneck before the aqueduct was built, and there were numerous collisions with timber rafts headed downstream. In 1847, to alleviate both problems, the D & H Canal Company approved John Roebling's plan to "build the canal above the river."
Compared to conventional bridges, Roebling's suspension design allowed more room for ice floes and river traffic. An immediate success, the $41,750 Delaware Aqueduct and the $18,650 Lackawaxen Aqueduct (only the abutments remain) reduced canal travel time by one full day, saving thousands of dollars annually.
[edit] Early history (1779–1827)
The Roebling Aqueduct, before its construction in 1848, was the location of an 18th Century battle during the Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. The Battle at Minisink, which occurred in 1779, was a deadly win for the British Redcoats.[1] On July 21, 1779, General Joseph Brant marched the British army, consisting of 120 soldiers up the alignment of modern-day New York State Route 97 with items from a raid the previous day in the region of current-day Port Jervis. That evening, General Brant and his soldiers camped on Halfway Brook, the location of current-day Barryville, and the force continued on its way towards Lackawaxen, where the force thought they could cross into Pennsylvania safely. Immediately, another force attacked as they crossed the Delaware, and Brant's army flew up a rocky hill to the site where the battle would occur. During that time, many of the men in the army deserted Brant, and only about 60 made it to the site. About fourty or more soldiers and Iroquois tribesman died in the battle, which is now historic in Minisink Ford.[2] The battle area itself is now the site of Minisink Battleground County Park, less than a mile to the northeast.[3]
[edit] Delaware and Hudson Canal (1827–1848)
[edit] The new aqueduct (1848–1898)
[edit] Continuous bridge maintanence (1898–1930)
[edit] Lackawaxen Aqueduct Company (1930–1942)
[edit] Edward H. Huber (1942–1973)
[edit] National Park Service and its restoration (1973–present)
[edit] See also
- List of crossings of the Delaware River
- Zane Grey Museum (Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania), another feature of local historical interest also operated by the National Park Service, within easy walking distance.
[edit] Gallery
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 Delaware Aqueduct post-restoration by the NPS |
 A view down the center of the one lane bridge |
 The visible cables of the suspension bridge |
 Part of the bridge's foundation pointing upstream, showing an ice-breaker design |
 Delaware Aqueduct before restoration. Notice the suspension cables, which are hidden in the restored aqueduct by the canal sides. (NPS photographs) |
[edit] References
- ^ Dale, Frank T. (2003). Bridges Over The Delaware River: A History of Crossings. Rutgers University Press. pp. 141-147. ISBN 9780813532134. http://books.google.com/books?id=dDDDUlaQUYgC&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141&dq=Shohola+-+Barryville+Bridge&source=bl&ots=WrBdXV025f&sig=X8gc-W6P1Fvj-Lr3N2gzmiXJLA0#PPA141,M1.
- ^ Dale, Frank T. (1996). The Delaware Diary: Episodes in the Life of a River. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0813522838.
- ^ "Minisink Battleground Park" (in English). Sullivan County, New York. 2009. http://www.scgnet.us/orgMain.asp?storyid=196&. Retrieved on 2009-01-25.
[edit] External links
- National Park Service, Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct
- Entry at bridgemeister.com
- Delaware Aqueduct Bridge in the Structurae database
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