Perrine's Covered Bridge County Park
State Route 213, Dashville, Town of Esopus,  Ulster County, New York

Directions:

US 87 north to Exit 18, New Paltz; turn left onto Route 299 and go into downtown New Paltz; from Main Street in New Paltz, turn right onto Route 32 north; drive for 4.8 miles and turn right (east) onto State Route 213 (just before going over the highway bridge spanning the Wallkill River); drive for 0.2 of a mile and you will see the bridge on the left and the parking area on the right. Park. 

Foot traffic only on the bridge. 

Geology:

The bridge spans the Wallkill River which flows north through New Paltz.

History:

1820  --  French Huguenot immigrant James Perrine established a tavern near the Wallkill.

1834  -- the bridge was commissioned.  Perrine's Bridge was originally built by Benjamin Wood. The bridge is a single span of 138 feet in length of Burr Arch truss. The bridge connected Esopus to Tillson in the Hurley Patent.  Perrine's son was hired each winter as the "snower." He would spread snow the length of the structure so horse-drawn sleighs could cross.

1917  -- repairs made to the bridge.

by 1946  --  many of the sheathing boards (built to protect the beams and joints) had either fallen off or had been kicked off by kids.  This placed the skeleton of the bridge in danger and so the bridge was closed to traffic. 

1966  --  Perrine's Bridge declared a New York State Historic Site. 

1968  --  the bridge restored.

1973  --  the Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is reputed to be the second oldest surviving covered bridge in New York State. Bluestone from local quarries were used in the bridge's foundations.

1993  -- the bridge was restored.

1997  -- another restoration of the bridge (at a cost of $195,000 dollars). 

Sources:

Vivian Yess Wadlin of the Klyne-Esopus Historical Society Museum, "Through Time: Perrine's Bridge" http://www.abouttownguide.com/ulster/articles/perrine.shtml

Karl R. Wick and Susan B. Wick. 2003. Images of America: Esopus. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press.

Not far north, along Sturgeon's Pond, there is a monument to Ulster County born Sojourner Truth that you might want to see while in the area.  Who was Sojourner Truth?  Find out about her here: Sojourner Truth.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, Sarah David Rosenbaum, Rosemary Cooney
* = plant found in bloom  on day of field trip, September 04, 2004

Trees:
Acer negundo (box-leaf maple)
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Betula nigra (river birch)
Catalpa sp. (catalpa)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Morus alba (white mulberry)
Paulownia tomentosa (empress tree)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Populus deltoides (cottonwood)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Ulmus americana (American elm)
Ulmus pumila (Siberian elm)


Shrubs and Sub-shrubs:
Amorpha fruticosa (wild indigo)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Cornus racemosa (gray-stemmed dogwood)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honey suckle)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood viburnum)
Vinca minor (periwinkle)

Vines:
Apios americana (groundnut)
Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Dioscorea villosa (wild yam root)
Echinocystis lobata (wild balsam apple)
Humulus japonicus (Japanese hops)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Polygonum scandens (climbing hempweed)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis aestivalis (summer grape)

Herbs:
Acalypha sp. (three-seeded mercury) *
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow) *
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) *
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut) *
Aquilegia canadensis (columbine)
Arctium lappa (great burdock) *
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Asparagus officinalis (asparagus)
Aster novae-angliae (New England aster) *
Bidens sp. (beggar ticks) *
Centaurea sp. (hybrid knapweed) *
Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed) *
Chelidonium majus (celandine) *
Chenopodium album (pigweed)
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy) *
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Coronilla varia (crown vetch) *
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) *
Dipsacus sylvestris (teasel)
Echium vulgare (viper's bugloss) *
Erechtites hieraciifolia (pileweed) *
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane) *
Eupatorium perforatum (boneset)) *
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot) *
Eupatorium sp. (Joe-Pye weed)
Euphorbia sp. (spurge)
Galinsoga sp. (quickweed) *
Hypericum sp. (common or spotted St. Johnswort)
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed) *
Lactuca canadensis (wild lettuce) *
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) *
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Lotus corniculatus (birdfoot trefoil) *
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) *
Medicago lupulina (black medick) *
Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover) *
Nepeta cataria (catnip) *
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose) *
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Pastinaca sativa (wild parsnip) *
Peltandra virginica (arrow arum)
Physalis subglabrata (smooth ground cherry) *
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain) *
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed) *
Polygonum hydropiper (water pepper) *
Polygonum lapathifolium (nodding smartweed) *
Potentilla recta (rough-fruited cinquefoil)
Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan) *
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Sedum acre (golden carpet stonecrop)
Silene vulgaris (bladder campion)
Solanum nigrum (black nightshade) *
Solidago canadensis var. scabra (tall goldenrod) *
Sonchus oleraceus (common sow thistle) *
Stellaria pubera (star chickweed) *
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot)
Typha latifolia (cattail)
Urtica dioica var. procera (tall nettle) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Verbena hastata (blue vervain) *
Verbena urticifolia (white vervain) *

Sedges:
Carex sp. (nut or umbrella sedge)

Grasses:
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Digitaria sp. (crab grass)
Echinochloa sp. (barnyard grass)
Eleusine indica (zipper grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Panicum dichotomiflorum (fall panic grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Setaria faberi (nodding foxtail grass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)
Setaria viridis (green foxtail grass)
Tridens flavus (purple top grass)

Ferns:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Asplenium trichomanes (maidenhair spleenwort)
Athyrium filix-femina (lady fern)
Cystopteris sp. (fragile fern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern)
Polypodium sp. (rock cap fern)