Cook's Bridge - Newton Upper Falls, Massachusetts - Massachusetts Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

A Massachusetts historical marker can be visited on Cook's Bridge along Elliot Street in the village of Newton Upper Falls. The plaque presents information on three versions of bridges here, a map from the 1850's, an 1897 photo and two recent photos of Cook's Bridge, and a schematic drawing from this bridge's 2016 rehabilitation project. A current-day map by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) with a red "You Are Here" text and dot is on the left side of the marker.

This location is easily accessible on a wide sidewalk. Safe parking is available at the west end of this short bridge in a lot for the Hemlock Gorge Charles River Reservation.

Cook’s Bridge (also known as the Elliot Street Bridge) is on the site of one of the earliest bridges to span the Charles River and connect Needham and Newton. The original bridge was built around 1714 on land owned by Captain Robert Cook, one of Needham’s first settlers and a signer of the Petition that separated Needham from Dedham in 1711. The original bridge was probably a timber footbridge, but strengthened in the late 1700s with stone footings. In 1857, the bridge was rebuilt in stone and was widened in 1897 to accommodate the Newton & Boston Street Railway.

The 1857 stone bridge was the last bridge built by the noted Newton stonemason, Nathan Crafts, who was killed in an accident on the bridge during its construction. The bridge stands, more than 150 years later, as a testament to his work. It is also a relic of the time prior to the Civil War when stonework was the province of skilled masons, and not civil engineers. Fisher’s Bridge in Needham (Central Avenue, Needham to Centre Street where it crosses into Dover) is also thought to be an example of Craft’s work.

Photo in the center left:

Rebuilding the upstream (south) face of the Elliot Street Bridge, 1897, showing the three phases of construction: wooden support centering (left arch); centering loaded with new stone (center arch); and completed stonework (right arch). (From Seventeenth Annual Report of the {Newton} City Engineer for the year ending December 31, 1897.)

Photo in the center right:

Rehabilitation of the Elliot Street Bridge, 2016, showing the downstream (north) face of the bridge during the first phase of construction: temporary wooden supports installed prior to the removal of the soil gravel fill over the arches.

Map of Newton (1855) on the right edge:

“The Bridge on Elliot Street gives pleasant views down the picturesque rocky and foliage-draped gorge, with its rambling old brick mills, and the white Baptist church on the cliff above; and on the other side opens a quiet cove, with meadows and coppices beyond, and in the distance gracefully rolling hills, whose brilliant foliage makes a symphony of scarlets and bronzes in the still days of October.”

Quote from Moses Foster Sweetser, King’s Handbook of Newton, Massachusetts. Moses King Corporation, 1889

Agency Responsible for Placement: Other (Place below) Agency Responsible for Placement (if not in list above): Town of Newton Year Placed: c. 2016 County: Suffolk City/Town Name: Newton Upper Falls Relevant Web Site: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
When logging a Massachusetts Historic Marker, we ask that you not only describe your visit, but to upload a picture from it. The picture does not have to be of the marker - one picture of the marker is enough. But a photo of you standing next to the marker or a photograph the subject of the marker - those are examples of possible photographs to upload.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.