{"nrhp_refnum":"73001172","name":"Spengler Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Spengler Rd. over Kinderhook Creek","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chatham","county":"Columbia County","state":"NY","lat":42.430911768000044,"lon":-73.59928769199996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-02-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-lane, all-metal Pratt through-truss bridge carrying Spangler Road over Kinderhook Creek near Chatham Center, Columbia County, New York. It was built in 1880 by the Morse Bridge Company of Youngstown, Ohio.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a little-changed 19th-century iron truss bridge that remains in its original 'shunpike' bypass setting beside an old frame grist mill. It has decorative cast iron brackets and urns unusual for a utilitarian structure. It may be the only surviving New York example of a Morse Bridge Company bridge.","narrative":"Spengler Bridge, originally recorded as Spangler Bridge, is a narrow one-lane iron truss bridge that carries a small dirt road over Kinderhook Creek near Chatham Center in Columbia County, New York. Built in 1880 by the Morse Bridge Company of Youngstown, Ohio, it uses two 138-foot Pratt trusses with counter bracing, a plank deck and a 16-foot width. Unusual decorative touches include fanciful cast iron brackets forming an arch at each entrance and four cast iron urns atop the portal bracing. Old wooden railings made for horse and carriage traffic remain. The bridge sits beside an old weathered frame grist mill on a short bypass road created in the 19th century to avoid congested crossings at Chatham Center. Because the setting has stayed quiet and undisturbed, and because the bridge has changed little since 1880, it was judged an important surviving example of its type. It may be the only remaining New York bridge by its builder.","period_of_significance":"1880","architect_builder":"Morse Bridge Company of Youngstown, Ohio","architectural_style":"Pratt through truss with counters","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, largely unaltered and on its original site; a later 1978 letter mentions restoration work and a requested name change from Spangler to Spengler Bridge.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:38.808375-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/73001172.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001172/40b5b6b5c4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001172/40b5b6b5c4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"rossograph","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spangler_Bridge_Old_Chatham,_NY.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">rossograph</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spangler_Bridge_Old_Chatham,_NY.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317077","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spengler_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7576296"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/columbia-county/spengler-bridge-73001172/"}