Middlefield-Becket Stone Arch Railroad Bridge District

Middlefield-Becket Stone Arch Railroad Bridge District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Near Middlefield Road in Chester
Nearest city	Chester, Massachusetts
Coordinates
Built	1840
Architect	George Washington Whistler
Architectural style	No Style Listed
NRHP Reference #	80000502
Added to NRHP	April 11, 1980

The Middlefield-Becket Stone Arch Railroad Bridge District is a historic district extending through parts of the towns of Chester, Middlefield, and Becket, Massachusetts. The district encompasses a 3.7-mile (6.0 km) stretch of railroad right of way in which there are ten bridge crossings, including nine over the west branch of the Westfield River. The bridges were built in four time periods: 1840, 1866, 1912, and 1928. Nine of the ten bridges are stone or concrete masonry work, and one is a truss girder bridge. All are, with only minor exceptions, in excellent and original condition. The bridges were built to carry the Western Railroad through on its run from the Connecticut River to the Hudson River. This section of railroad was the most expensive the company had to build, costing over $1 million in 1840.

The 1840 bridges were designed by George Washington Whistler, and constructed by the firm of Alexander Birney. Of the original nine stone bridges built, only three survive, all of which are now out of service. Some of the bridges were either demolished or encased in concrete during work performed in 1912 and 1927, and one bridge was demolished in 1927. One of the listed bridges (#4) was built of concrete in 1912, adjacent to one of the 1840 stone bridges (#3) that was taken out of service. The one steel truss bridge was built in 1912 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. A hiking trail providing viewing points to the lower seven bridges was opened in 2004. All of the bridges are viewable via whitewater-appropriate watercraft from the river.

Bridge list

Unless otherwise noted, all bridges were in service at the time of the National Register listing (1980), and crossed the West Branch Westfield River.

#	CSX Bridge #	Image	Year built	Location	Description
1	128.21	100px	1866		Double-span stone arch
2	128.44	100px	1912		Steel deck girder
3	out of service		1840-41		Stone arch bridge; taken out of service in 1912
4	129.28	100px	1913		Concrete arch
5	out of service		1840-41		Stone arch
6	out of service	100px	1840-41		Stone arch
7	130.10	100px	1912		Concrete arch
8	130.46		1866/1912		Stone/concrete arch; crosses Factory Brook and Town Hill Road
9	131.50		1928		Concrete arch
10	131.70		1928		Concrete arch

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampshire County, Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts

External links

• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MA-154, "Whistler Bridge No. 3"
• HAER No. MA-155, "Whistler Bridge No. 4"
• HAER No. MA-156, "Whistler Bridge No. 5"
• HAER No. MA-157, "Whistler Bridge No. 6"