Rock Cut Farm Swinging Bridge
This is an image set within the Bridgemeister collection.
| Bridge: | Rock Cut Farm Swinging Bridge |
| Location: | Baoba, Pennsylvania, USA - Lackawaxen River |
| Coordinates and Maps: | See related inventory record(s). |
| Image Set Contributor: | Patrick S. O'Donnell |
| Related Suspension Bridge Inventory: | Rock Cut Farm (Baoba) - Baoba, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Related Image Lists: | All from Patrick S. O'Donnell All in Pennsylvania All in USA All Pedestrian Suspension Bridges |
| Credit: | All photos by Patrick S. O'Donnell. Please do not reuse without permission. |
Looking at a topographical map of the location, Patrick notes: "You'll see 'Shimers Rock Cut'. This is a cut they made for the railroad. It makes me wonder if this bridge played a role in providing access for workers to that cut. There's a sign on the far tower 'Rock Cut Farm Sept 1882'. While I doubt that the timber tower adorned with this sign is original; I could see the masonry tower on the road side being from the 19th century." A postcard in my collection shows an earlier bridge at this site.
The bridge pictured here was destroyed by floodwaters during the last week of June 2006. A local news item mentioned, "As the water level receded on the Lackawaxen River all that remained of a 100 year old walking suspended bridge was one cable... It was a swinging bridge with two cables. If you look down over the edge you'll see what's left of it. It's 200 feet across and that's how we got to that side over there. [There's] no other way." Photos of the wrecked bridge are posted on Frederica Knup's Family Farm.
In December 2007, Glenn Snowden writes: "[The bridge] has been replaced by the same type/construction bridge. New cables of smaller diameter were used. The very old concrete on the road side remains and is used. A new support was not in place on the house side end of the bridge, basically a pipe on the ground was used as the last point of contact for the wire."
