The (Long Gone) Seneca River Bridges of Cayuga County

 I am on a quest to find photos of all of the original Seneca River / Barge Canal bridges and I have a couple from my files. The bridge above was the first that crossed the river north of Weedsport on what is now Route 34. The little building in front was used by the local buoy boat men to house the boat and supplies.

 

This was the bridge over the river north of Port Byron on what is now Rt 38. This bridge had to jump two channels, which is why it is so long. 

The first was the natural channel that went north around Haiti Island, before it was an island, but just a bump of land surrounded on three sides by the river. The second channel was the man made channel that created really turned Haiti Island into an island for real. A new channel cut off all the loops around the group of islands in this area, and the junction of the Owasco Outlet and Seneca River was moved west.

All these bridges have the decorative panel at the end of the span over the right of way. Does this keep people from climbing up there? Birds from sitting?

My good friend and the Montezuma Historian Cheryl Longyear kindly sent along photos of the Montezuma bridge, which carried Rt 31 over the Seneca. Look at the size difference between the old and new.

  

I have included this last one as it does show some of the bridge, but also a boat house that I never knew about. 

The man is Arthur Helmer, who if you have ever read "Drums Along the Mohawk" , you would know this man's family and run of Adam Helmer, who is buried in Weedsport.  

 Here is the Montezuma bridge as it sits today.