RESOURCE IDENTIFICATION of 31 RAILROAD BRIDGES Rutland and Bennington Counties, Vermont Rensselaer County, New York
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ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCE IDENTIFICATION SURVEY BUILD GRANT - RESOURCE IDENTIFICATION OF 31 RAILROAD BRIDGES Rutland and Bennington Counties, Vermont Rensselaer County, New York Prepared for: Prepared by: Vermont Agency of Transportation Louis Berger U.S., Inc. 1 National Life Drive A WSP Company Montpelier, Vermont 05633 140 State Street, Suite 101 Albany, New York 12207 December 6, 2019 ARCHITECTURAL RESOURCE IDENTIFICATION SURVEY BUILD GRANT - RESOURCE IDENTIFICATION OF 31 RAILROAD BRIDGES Rutland and Bennington Counties, Vermont Rensselaer County, New York Prepared for: Vermont Agency of Transportation 1 National Life Drive Montpelier, Vermont 05633 Prepared by: Amber Courselle Kate Umlauf Louis Berger U.S., Inc. A WSP Company 140 State Street, Suite 101 Albany, New York 12207 December 6, 2019 Architectural Resource Identification Survey Rutland and Bennington Counties, Vermont BUILD Grant - Resource Identification of 31 Railroad Bridges Rensselaer County, New York Abstract On behalf of the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), Montpelier, Louis Berger U.S., Inc., a WSP Company (WSP), completed an Architectural Resource Identification Survey for the BUILD Grant replacement or rehabilitation of 31 railroad bridges in the Towns of Shaftsbury, Arlington, Manchester, Dorset, Mount Tabor, Wallingford, and Clarendon and the City of Rutland, Rutland and Bennington Counties, Vermont, and the Town of Hoosick, Rensselaer County, New York. The purpose of the project is to rehabilitate or replace 31 existing bridges of the former Bennington and Rutland Railroad, now operated by Vermont Railway and owned by VTrans. The area of potential effect (APE) for the architectural investigation includes the 31 bridges (properties) and the immediate area surrounding each bridge along a section of railroad track approximately 57.82 miles long and includes those parcels immediately adjacent to the bridges (the direct APE) as well as those not adjacent to the right-of-way but that may be indirectly affected by the project (the indirect APE). The total APE consists of the 31 total properties and their immediate surroundings. The purpose of this investigation was to identify (1) historic architectural resources (properties) in the APE previously listed in the Vermont State Register of Historic Places/National Register of Historic Places (VT SRHP/NRHP) (the criteria for listing in the VT SRHP are identical to the NRHP Criteria), and (2) previously unevaluated historic architectural resources in the APE that may be eligible for listing in the NRHP. The investigation included background research and fieldwork. Fieldwork took place in September 2019. The architectural resource identification survey was undertaken pursuant to 10 VSA Chapter 151 and 30 VSA Chapter 5, Section 248. WSP identified one previously recorded non-bridge resource, the Bennington Battlefield National Historic Landmark, (90NR00962), in the APE. One non-eligible bridge (BR 603) in the APE is located within its boundaries. WSP identified 30 previously unrecorded properties, all bridges, plus one bridge previously listed in the Vermont State Register of Historic Places/National Register of Historic Places (SRHP/NRHP). The previously listed property, the Clarendon through truss bridge (BR 93), is recommended as remaining eligible. One bridge was found to have been constructed in 1978 and did not meet the age criterion for evaluation. The remaining 29 previously unevaluated bridge properties are at least 45 years old, and of these, WSP recommends 26 bridges as eligible for the SRHP/NRHP as contributing elements in the recommended Bennington and Rutland Railroad linear historic district. One bridge, the Shaftsbury stone arch bridge over Paran Creek (BR 59), was also found to meet the registration requirements for listing in the NRHP Multiple Property Listing, Metal Truss, Masonry and Concrete Bridges of Vermont, 1820-1978. The three remaining bridges are all located in Rensselaer County, New York. Two are recommended as not eligible for listing individually or as part of the recommended Bennington and Rutland Railroad linear historic district because they are not historically associated with the development of the line (BR 601 and BR 603). Bridge No. 600 is recommended as individually eligible for the SRHP/NRHP. The railroad line runs though the Bennington Battlefield National Historic Landmark site, with one non-contributing bridge (BR 603) located within its boundaries. During the survey WSP also identified five properties that would be subject to Section 4(f), which regulates use of public recreation areas and NRHP-listed sites that may be affected by federal Department of Transportation funded projects. i Architectural Resource Identification Survey Rutland and Bennington Counties, Vermont BUILD Grant - Resource Identification of 31 Railroad Bridges Rensselaer County, New York Table of Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. i List of Figures .................................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................................... iii I. Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 A. Project Description ......................................................................................................... 1 B. Scope of Services ........................................................................................................... 1 II. Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 5 III. Historic Context ....................................................................................................................... 6 A. Historical Overview of Southern Vermont ..................................................................... 6 B. Historical Overview of Rutland County ......................................................................... 7 C. Historical Overview of Bennington County ................................................................... 12 D. Historical Overview of Rensselaer County, New York ................................................. 12 E. Historical Overview of Vermont Railway, Bennington and Rutland, and Hoosick Railroads .......................................................................................................... 15 1. Vermont .............................................................................................................. 18 2. New York ........................................................................................................... 22 IV. Survey Results ......................................................................................................................... 24 V. Summary and Conclusions ....................................................................................................... 26 VI. References Cited and Bibliography ......................................................................................... 27 ii Architectural Resource Identification Survey Rutland and Bennington Counties, Vermont BUILD Grant - Resource Identification of 31 Railroad Bridges Rensselaer County, New York List of Figures Page 1 Project Location ....................................................................................................................... 2 2a Location of Area of Potential Effect (APE) ............................................................................. 3 2b Location of Area of Potential Effect (APE) ............................................................................. 4 3 Project APE, 1856 .................................................................................................................... 9 4 Rutland County, 1854 .............................................................................................................. 10 5 Rutland County, 1869 .............................................................................................................. 11 6 Bennington County, 1856 ........................................................................................................ 13 7 Bennington County, 1880 ........................................................................................................ 14 8 Rensselaer County, 1861 .......................................................................................................... 16 9 Western Vermont Railroad Map, 1851 .................................................................................... 17 10 Vermont Railroads in 1896 ...................................................................................................... 19 11 Rutland Railroad Map, 1899 .................................................................................................... 20 12 Rutland Railroad Map, 1923 .................................................................................................... 23 List of Tables 1 Previously and Newly Evaluated Historic Architectural Resources in the APE, Plus Recommended Historic District, That Are Eligible for VT SRHP/NRHP, and Section 4(F) Properties ............................................................................................................