Charles Eliot Bridge - Blue Hills Reservation, Milton, MA
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NorStar
N 42° 12.814 W 071° 06.749
19T E 325631 N 4675649
The Eliot Bridge is a stone arch trail bridge near the summit of Blue Hill, and is named after Charles Eliot, who was instrumental in preserving the park now known as Blue Hills Reservation.
Waymark Code: WM50DN
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 10/21/2008
Views: 16
This well built stone masonry bridge is part of a set of structures near the summit of Great Blue Hill, which has a height of 635 ft. In addition to the bridge, there is an observation tower and a picnic area, also made of stone masonry. Though there is an access road to the summit of the hill (authorized vehicles only), the majority of trails on the hill are unimproved.
The bridge is located between trail intersections 1063 and 1066 on a map. The main trail that crosses the bridge is the North Skyline Trail, which rejoins the South Skyline Trail near the south end of the bridge. The bridge stands about 10 feet above the ravine. On the south side of the bridge, the trail is dirt. On the north side, the trail is stone-ledge at the end of the bridge which changes to fine gravel in the picnic area.
According to a Massachusetts site that lists historical bridges
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visit link)
this bridge (Bridge No. M25034) was built in 1904, and the crossing is listed as a drainage ditch. On the bridge is a plaque that is a memorial to Charles Eliot.
According the Mass. Dept. of Conservation and Recreation web site
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visit link)
Charles Eliot was a landscape architect who worked for Frederick Law Olmsted and was the primary founder and architect of what was then the Metropolitan Park System (since been folded into the state's park system). He arranged for the purchase of thousands of acres of land immediately around Boston, including what is now the Blue Hills Reservation.
The area is well used by hikers and the bridge probably does as much protecting the ravine from erosion as it allows hikers to conveniently cross it.