GREENE – A local man who stepped forward 18 years ago to preserve a covered wooden bridge – and his family’s legacy – has been recognized in a feature by a national magazine.
Robert Vredenburgh, 61, of Greene, a retired New York State Police investigator, was featured in the January edition of Country Extra magazine this year for his volunteer effort in restoring a 100-year-old bridge with money received through donations.
In 1990, Vredenburgh discovered at a family reunion that the Grant Mills Bridge, built by Vredenburgh’s grandfather, was being dismantled by the Town of Hardenburgh.
“We were at a family reunion, and the town supervisor was telling us about the plan to dismantle the bridge and reassemble it later. I figured that once they tore down the bridge, it would probably never get rebuilt,” said Vredenburgh.
Vredenburgh said he had always been a keeper of family history and heritage and couldn’t let this piece of his grandfather’s legacy slip away.
The bridge was in built 1902 when Vredenburgh’s grandfather Edgar Marks was awarded the contract with a original construction bid of $950. With the aid from other family members Marks finished the project in the same year on Dec. 8 and was just $78 over budget. The bridge was named the Grant Mills Bridge and crossed the Millbrook Stream.
In the 1960s the town built a new adjacent bridge and planned to preserve the landmark as a historical monument. Nearly 25 years later, the bridge had been neglected and was virtually condemned because of its deteriorating state.
“The old bridge probably wouldn’t have made it through another winter,” said Vredenburgh. Finally the town decided to simply dismantle the bridge and store it away.
“I asked if they’d consider letting me restore it with volunteer labor and donations. I had no idea what I was getting into, except that anything is possible,” said Vredenburgh.
Vredenburgh said he went home that same night and for about a week he began reading everything he could about covered bridges.
“I knew about as much about covered bridges as you do right now, so I bought a book and started reading,” Vredenburgh said.
The town also began raising money and formed a volunteer fund-raising committee to help. The committee received a $2,000 donation by the Tuscarora Club and a $1,000 from Ulster County. This was enough for Vredenburgh and his other family member to get to work.
The New York State Covered Bridge Society and Boyceville Lumber Company helped to donated 900 board feet of lumber for the roof.
“Even with volunteer labor, coming up with enough money to keep going was a challenge,” Vredenburgh said.
It took nearly a year and a half of work working over 149 days at the site before the bridge was finally finished.
“More than 50 people showed up to help us finish off the bridge. It was one of the real highlights of the project, and everyone had a great time,” Vredenburgh said.
Vredenburgh kept a journal of the crews work so that someday the families descendants could keep track of what they did. Some of the things recorded included Vredenburgh’s mileage traveling from Chenango to Ulster County, 11,880 miles. Total cost of the bridge materials, $13,000. Vredenburgh estimated that if the town had hired a private contractor, the cost would have been over $100,000.