Rexleigh Bridge is a wooden

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

over the

Batten Kill The Batten Kill, Battenkill, or Battenkill River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed October 3, 2011 river rising in Vermont that flows into New York and is a tributary ...

Washington County, New York Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,302. The county seat is Fort Edward. The county was named for U.S. President George Washington. Washington County is part of the Glen ...

. It is one of 29 historic covered bridges in New York State. Town and

Howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a bridg ...

designs were patented by

Ithiel Town Ithiel Town (October 3, 1784 – June 13, 1844) was an American architect and civil engineer. One of the first generation of professional architects in the United States, Town made significant contributions to American architecture in the f ...

in 1820 and William Howe (architect) in 1840, respectively. The Rexleigh Bridge employs "the patented Howe truss, with paired diagonal timbers, single timber counters, and multiple vertical iron rods defining each truss panel. The diagonals and verticals are connected to the upper and lower chords by means of cast-iron bearing blocks." Those bearing blocks are "embossed with the name of their manufacturer, 'R. Comins, Troy, N.Y.,'" and, although the timber used is local, the bridge "appears to be a rare surviving example of this type of prefabricated nineteenth-century bridge construction." It was individually inventoried by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in 1977. It is one of four Washington County covered bridges submitted for listing in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in one multiple property submission. The others are the Buskirk Bridge, the Eagleville Bridge, and Shushan Bridge. All four were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 8, 1972.

References

External links

Rexleigh Bridge, at New York State Covered Bridge Society

Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Bridges completed in 1874 Wooden bridges in New York (state) Tourist attractions in Washington County, New York Bridges in Washington County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, New York Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Howe truss bridges in the United States {{NewYork-bridge-struct-stub