Avery-Bartholomew Patent Railroad Iron Bridge, Town park south of Route 222, west of Owasco Inlet (moved from Elm Street Extension spanning Fall Creek, Nubia, NY), Groton, Tompkins County, NY

Significance: The Avery-Bartholomew Patent Railroad Iron Bridge in Groton, New York, is a single-span tied arch iron bridge incorporating railroad rails for its upper and lower chords. The bridge is one of a very small number of patented iron bridges that survive anywhere, and one of the most unusual examples of its kind. It is also the only extant example of a bridge based on the patents of Oliver Avery, Jr. and Caleb Bartholomew, and exemplifies the technological advances in American metal truss bridge designs during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Though the iron-rail truss design was short-lived and rapidly succeeded by other iron and then steel designs, it was very much a part of the rapid changes in building technology following the Civil War. ...
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N380
Survey number: HAER NY-277