THE GREAT CARTHAGE BRIDGE - AND OTHERS Once again, based upon an article I wrote in 1993 for the Tenth Ward Courier/Vicinity Post: Despite her natural advantages for growth over Rochesterville to the south, Carthage lacked the one thing that kept her rival ahead of her - a bridge over the Genesee. The bridge in Rochesterville had been built in 1812 and, consequently, new houses and shops were constructed in that vicinity. The promoters of Carthage sent a delegation to Albany to lobby for funds. In 1818 the State Legislature passed An act for building a toll bridge over the Genesee River at the Village of Carthage. Under the conditions of that act, Carthage had to build its bridge within fifty rods of the Lower Falls, provided that it was below the falls. A rod is 16 1/2 feet. The Brighton Bridge Company would construct the bridge. It took the name Brighton since Monroe County was not formed yet. Carthage was in Ontario County in the Town of Brighton. Started in May, 1818, it was finished in February, 1819. Only one person died during construction. It was made entirely of wood except for the iron bolts used for securing various connections. The Great Carthage Bridge was a wonder! Wagons carrying 13 tons of weight were able to cross with nary a tremor. The largest wood bridge ever built up to that time was the famous one in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Although it was twelve feet longer, it was nowheer as high as Carthage. Carthage was 718 feet long and 30 feet wide. With the great Ridge Rd. finally connected for the first time, Carthage experienced a great increase of trade. The bridge was guaranteed by the builders for one year. Fifteen months later, May 2, 1820, the bridge collapsed and fell into the gorge. With it fell the future of Carthage unless another bridge could be built, and soon. (No one was on the bridge when it fell) Another plan was rapidly approved by the State Senate. This time the bridge would be toll free and had to be constructed within 150 rods of the original. Because of the latter condition, this allowed the second bridge to be built above the falls. It opened in 1822 and worked for a few years, but the problem with putting a bridge above the falls meant that it was susceptible to the danger of floods. Sure enough, a flood in the late 1820s eliminated that span. Another bridge was built even closer to the Middle Falls but the Great Flood of 1835 washed it away. Three strikes. Referring to the first bridge I am now going to quote Mary Lou Brown in the Tenth Ward Post of 1991: The fall of the bridge was the beginning of the end for Carthage as the west side Rochesterville gained in prominence and even eclipsed the larger Canandaigua. The opening of the Erie Canal in 1825 guaranteed the Flour Citys future. Of course, the river was finally crossed again, fifty-five years after the third Carthage bridge fell. That 1890 iron bridge lasted for many years until the most recent bridge replaced it. Those of us who have reached a certain age remember the old bridge - how it would move with the wind, how mist from the Lower Falls would coat it in ice and make any type of crossing an adventure and how the Crosstown Bus would occasionally be banned from using it. So that makes five structures. What happened to Carthage? There is a metal plaque embedded in a large rock near the Seth Green apartments just south of the Keeler St. Expressway which states: Carthage 1809-1834 Stout arms subdued the wilderness and built Carthage here...at the river bank halted the ox-carts of the pioneers. Caleb Lyon came first 1809 : Elisha B. Strong and others 1816. The Village plot covered 1,000 acres ... with stately homes - mills - warehouses - shipyards...Carthage became a center of commerce with Canada and the west. The annual exports down the river approached a million dollars. The gorge was spanned by the famous Carthage Bridge, the highest wooden arch ever built. When Rochester was incorporated in 1834, Carthage was included... Thus ends the story.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Feb 2014 02:04:22 +0000
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