Leeds Bridge, Catskill Mountains, N. Y.
Leeds, Greene County
The Leeds Bridge spans the Catskill Creek at the village of Leeds in Greene County, New York. The original bridge at the site was made of wood, but “the spring rains made a mighty river of the stream and it was partly swept away. About 1760 the missing part or the eastern part was replaced by two arches of stone. In 1785 the wooden part was burned and the western arches added in 1792 at a cost of £300. Just below the bridge was the old fording place used by both Indians and white men.” (“Old Stone Bridge.” Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 30, 1940.) The bridge was a key crossing point along the Susquehanna Turnpike as it traveled from the village of Catskill west to Unadilla on the Susquehanna River. By the 1920s plans were being designed to replace the bridge with a modern steel structure with a view that “there is no question as to the strength or solidity of the bridge, but is narrow and has a “hump” in the middle, making a menace for traffic.” (“Leeds Bridge Doomed.” Brooklyn Times Union. Brooklyn, New York. December 26, 1926.) Through community efforts a more historic approach was taken and the bridge rehabilitated in 1937, as a “reinforced concrete structure whose facing is original stone in exact duplicate of design of old bridge. Span lengths, 28, 63, 42 and 40 ft. as well as rise and shape of arches are duplicated.” (Highways. V. 17. No. 9. Washington, D.C. March 2, 1938.) The bridge is approximately 239 feet long and 30 feet wide.
