Historical Wyoming County July 1956 - Old Fulton History

Page 98 July 1956
HISTORICAL WYOMING
Published quarterly at Arcade, New York, under sponsorship of the
Wyoming County Board of Supervisors, by Harry S. Douglass, County
Historian; Robert W0 McGowan, Associate Editor, and Students of
Arcade Central School®
COVERED BRIDGE DAYS (cont.)
York® This structure stretches about 100 feet and is fashioned in a
familiar pattern in use some century or more ago when it was doubtless
erectedo No record exists in the annals of the town to deter-
mine its exact agec
A thirteen foot clearance in width, and a com-
parable height, allows the passage of loads of hay0 In horse and
buggy days smaller vehicles could easily pass within the bridge0
Todays it has been observed that it is the practice of vehicles to
wait at either end while anotner crosses the spanc ^-t is reported
that the sides are constructed of 1^6 planks, two and three inches
thick, arranged in a lattice pattern and fastened with wooden pins
two inches in diameter and eight inches long® Planks averaging
three inches thick serve as a floor and the exterior has been covered
with modern clapboards® Ten rafters on each side support the
shingled rcof„
Maintained by the Wyoming County Highway Department, the bridge
has survived only because of the interest of the county superintendent
of highways,, Mr0 Felix Ramsey, and the overwhelming popular
demand of the public that the landmark be restored and preserved as
long as practicable,, The latest repairs included the replacement of
a broken beam® Back in 1950, the structure suffered wind damage and
had to be straightened and strengthened,, Flood waters sweeping
against the abutments have long been a menace®
It was a score and more years ago that it became apparent that
the Ellis bridge might De replaced by a modern span, it having been
condemned as unsafe® Being the last of the town's historic spans,
the County bowed to public sentiment and carried out a major job of
restoration® Historically minded and sentimental visitors have
flocked to the scene these many years® -^t is one of the most frequently
photographed spots in the area. Seldom does one stop at the
structure for any length of time before at least another car of
visitors will halt on a similar errand® During the filming of the
Hollywood production* "The Great Waltz," shots were taken at the
bridge with the actors in costume® These scenes were used for publicity
by the producer although local theater goers reported they
did not see the bridge in thp version of the film®
Bennington's other covered bridges, all once within a two mile
stretch of Cayuga Creek, were the Sergeant bridge in Cowlesville on
the Miller-Urf roadj the Kittsley Bridge on the u arris Corners road
opposite the Folsom home; the Havens Bridge at an ashery, slightly
below the falls in Cayuga Glen, Folsomdale;and just around the creek
bend was the Mosier Bridge® The last of these was replaced with a
modern arc-welded iron structure around 1933? insuring its use by
modern traffic®
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