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Forge, Ulster County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: NY/32-56-02
County: Ulster County
Township: Hardenburgh
Town/Village:
Bridge Name: Forge
Crosses: Dry Brook
Truss type: King
Spans: 1
Length: 27'
Roadway Width:
Built: 1906
Builder: Salem Jerome Moot
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N42 04.756
Longitude: W074 33.163
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 1.6 miles west of CR38 and Arkville on NY28, then 7.6 miles left on Dry Brook Rd. and just right. North of Seager.

Forge Bridge, Hardenbergh, Ulster County, NY Built 1906
Todd Clark Collection

Forge Bridge, Hardenbergh, Ulster County, NY Built 1906
Trish Kane/Richard Donovan Collection

Forge Bridge, Hardenbergh, Ulster County, NY Built 1906
Trish Kane Photo (October 2004)

Forge Bridge, Hardenbergh, Ulster County, NY Built 1906
Trish Kane Photo, September 2011

Forge Bridge, Hardenbergh, Ulster County, NY Built 1906
Bill Caswell Photo, July 30, 2017

Comments:
Private, permission. Like other covered bridges in the Catskill region, it features buttresses providing lateral support. This bridge has three on each side. It is believed that the Forge name was from an iron forge which once stood nearby. It is said that the builder, Salem Jerome Moot, who is credited with building a number of bridges and barns in the area, never prepared plans, but had the design in his head. In the summer of 1976, poles were added underneath to provide additional support. The bridge was rebuilt in 1985 and is now supported by steel I-beams. Only part of the Kingpost framing is from the original bridge. On November 9, 1928 the minutes of the Town of Hardenbergh’s meeting state that the board directed the Town Clerk to notify the County Supervisor of Highways that the bridge “is in unsafe and dangerous condition. Now, therefore, we would ask that you would inspect said bridge at your earliest convenience to the end that a new bridge may be built to replace the old one.” It was not replaced at that time. In 1953, Mr. Kingdon V. Gould, who owned the Furlough Lodge, also located in the Dry Brook valley, purchased the bridge from the town of Hardenburgh for one dollar. Because of its frail condition, gray wooden gates were installed across the entrance to prohibit the passage of traffic. In December 1976, Mr. Gould’s son embarked on an extensive and conscientious restoration project.

Sources:
Information received from Todd Clark in March 2010
Anderson, Stott. Ulster County's Old Timbered Crossings, 1964, page 36
Wilson, Richard R.. New York State's Covered Bridges, 2004, page 92
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 59

Compilation 2026 Covered Spans of Yesteryear

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