BRIDGESPOTTING

Pioneer Valley Bridges, Massachusetts

The Pioneer Valley is the name for the topographic trough through which the Connecticut River and its tributaries, including the Deerfield and Millers Rivers, flow from north to south through central Massachusetts. The valley is the location of numerous historic and decorative bridges, which were predominantly constructed in two different eras: the 1880s, and the interwar period from 1919 to the late 1930s.

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Both of these eras were a time of rampant decoration on bridges, but with different types and purposes. On the earlier generation of bridges, represented in the Pioneer Valley by Bardwells Ferry, Norwottuck, Mineral Road, and Farley bridges, and one truss of the Canalside Rail Trail, the bridges were steel through truss bridges. The decoration on these bridges usually consisted of a combination of the geometric shape of truss and structural supports over the portal corners, and an ornate constructor’s plaque proudly displaying the date and construction date over the portal. The Bardwells Ferry Bridge is a lenticular truss constructed by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, while both the Mineral Road and Farley bridges display ornate constructor’s plaques over the portal.

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The post-World War I bridges are represented by the French King, Springfield, Calvin Coolidge, Gill-Montague, and Sunderland bridges, and two of the trusses of the Canalside Rail Trail Bridge. By this time, the decoration of bridges by installing large concrete and stone monuments with decorative carving, engraving, and lampposts on the corners of bridges had come into vogue. Instead of decorations being done just for aesthetic purposes, or to advertise the builder of the bridge, these decorations were used to commemorate individuals or groups of importance to the community. These include monuments commemorating the achievements of Calvin Coolidge on the Coolidge Bridge, and commemoration of early pioneers and veterans of foreign wars on the Springfield Bridge.

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The need for the new generation of bridges in the late 1930s was driven, in part, by a major flood of the Connecticut River in March, 1936, which led to new bridges being constructed at Canalside, Coolidge, Gill-Montague, and Sunderland in 1936-1938. The Bardwell, Mineral Road, and Farley bridges were apparently not affected by the flood, because they exist on side tributaries to the main Connecticut River. The French King and Springfield bridges, which do cross the Connecticut River, were not affected because they are much higher over the river. The Norwottuck Bridge was saved because it is a railroad bridge, and the railroad company strengthened the bridge by weighing it down with train cars loaded with scrap metal, allowing it to survive the flood.

I have included detailed descriptions of several of these bridges throughout my book, Bridgespotting: A Guide to Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times, and Bridgespotting Part 2. These include a discussion of lenticular truss bridges, including Bardwells Ferry, in Chapter 2 of Bridgespotting; a description of the French King Bridge and the nearby Mineral Road Bridge in a sub-chapter on scenic bridges in Bridgespotting; a detailed description of the Coolidge Bridge in Chapter 4 of Bridgespotting Part 2; and brief mentions of Farley, Springfield, and other bridges in other parts of both books.