UNDER THE ROOF Livingston Manor’s covered bridge is a favorite historic structure visited by tourists, as well as a great way to ford the Willowemoc. Adriana Serafino photo
Covered bridge a symbol of days long gone
Manor’s wooden crossing a gem
By Adriana Serafino | Manor Ink
PAINTED TRIBUTE The author’s watercolor of the bridge after a winter snow storm. Adriana Serafino illustration
Livingston Manor, NY – This hamlet has one of the last 34 remaining covered bridges in New York State. Drive over to 130 Covered Bridge Road and you can see the wooden bridge that was built by John Davidson in 1860. Davidson was a lumberman and farmer, and was well known for building covered bridges in the Catskills.
The bridge in Livingston Manor is the oldest of four remaining Catskill-type, patented town-lattice bridges in Sullivan County. It is interesting to remember that when covered bridges had been built, there weren’t modern construction vehicles and tools. A covered bridge was built by the hard work of men and animals such as horses and oxen.
You may wonder why these wooden bridges were built with roofs. A covered bridge might seem like a good place for people and horses to find protection from bad rain storms while traveling. You might also think the cover was to keep snow off the bridge. But that wasn’t true – people actually got paid to put snow onto the bridge to make it easier for the horse-drawn sleighs to pass through. Actually, the real reason roofs were built over wooden truss bridges was to protect the interior supporting timbers from moisture and rot.
Though the bridge in Livingston Manor has stood the test of time, it did need to be restored in 1984. The repairs were required because the bridge had undergone years of wear and tear through normal usage. In 1925, however, the bridge suffered minor damage in a flood, and then in 1940, its decking was damaged when a loaded truck veered off the bridge and into the Willowemoc Creek.
Covered bridges are a nostalgic reflection of a time gone by. Today, the bridges stand as historic landmarks. As you drive over one, you may wonder what life was like back in the 1800s. Imagine a time when carriages pulled by horses had been the only way to travel, even for trips of many miles. To find out more about covered bridges check out The New York State Covered Bridge Society at nycoveredbridges.org.