{"nrhp_refnum":"99001327","name":"Beer's Bridge","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Private Rd. off NY 73 over AuSable R.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Keene Valley","county":"Essex County","state":"NY","lat":44.16973494500007,"lon":-73.78201241799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A single-lane Pratt pony truss bridge of metal with a wood deck, spanning the East Branch of the AuSable River off NYS Route 73 near Keene Valley, Essex County, New York. It was built about 1900 in the town of Lewis and moved to its present site about 1925.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the bridge is an intact, well-preserved example of a simple turn-of-the-century iron bridge, typical of small rural bridges of the pre-automobile era. It also has significance for early-20th-century transportation history in the region, including the practice of moving and reusing obsolete bridges after the 1924 flood.","narrative":"Beer's Bridge is a 53-foot, single-lane Pratt pony truss carrying a private road over the East Branch of the AuSable River, several miles upstream from Keene Valley in the Adirondacks. Built around 1900 in the town of Lewis, it became obsolete there. After a devastating flood in 1924 washed away several bridges in the town of Keene, two local men, Fedor Smith and Paul Sachs, moved it to its present site about 1925. Its pin-connected metal members, eye-bar bottom chords and diagonals, and rod counters reflect the light construction of small rural bridges of its era, and the truss follows a design patented by Thomas and Caleb Pratt in 1844. The wood deck has been replaced in kind and the floor system was reinforced with I-beams around 1993, yet most original components remain. It is recognized for its engineering and for its place in the region's early transportation history, including the common reuse of older bridges.","period_of_significance":"c.1900-1948","architect_builder":"Thomas & Caleb Pratt (truss design)","architectural_style":"Pratt pony truss","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use, providing access to several mostly seasonal homes on the east side of the river; the form states it retains a high level of integrity.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:50.005734-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/99001327.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001327/fed3cbfb46-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99001327/fed3cbfb46-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Mwanner","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beers_Bridge,_Keene_Valley,_New_York.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Mwanner</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beers_Bridge,_Keene_Valley,_New_York.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312900","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer%27s_Bridge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4879934"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/essex-county/beers-bridge-99001327/"}