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Eighteenth Century Warwick landmark cleaned

| 29 Jan 2019 | 01:23
    On Jan. 15, Town of Warwick DPW crew members, using a combination of heavy equipment, hand tools and creative agility, managed to clear away the unsightly underbrush and give Warwick back it’s Old Stone Bridge. The bridge arches gracefully over the Wawayanda Creek, just south of Wickham Lake on the grounds Wickham Woods Park.
    On Jan. 15, Town of Warwick DPW crew members, using a combination of heavy equipment, hand tools and creative agility, managed to clear away the unsightly underbrush and give Warwick back it’s Old Stone Bridge. The bridge arches gracefully over the Wawayanda Creek, just south of Wickham Lake on the grounds Wickham Woods Park.
    The clearing halfway finished with the stonework once again visible. The bridge was built in the 1790s.
    The clearing halfway finished with the stonework once again visible. The bridge was built in the 1790s.

WARWICK — As part of the Community2gether Visioning project to restore the Wawayanda Creek to its earlier beauty and navigability, the Town of Warwick Department of Public Works offered to clear the heavy growth of unsightly underbrush that has effectively hidden one of Warwick’s great treasures from view for years.
The Old Stone Bridge that arches gracefully over the creek, just south of Wickham Lake on the grounds the former Correctional Facility — now Wickham Woods Park — was so overgrown that it was virtually invisible.
Problem … solvedBut there was a problem. The constant rains and often above-freezing temperatures of the early winter meant that the ground was slippery and DPW’s crew and heavy equipment couldn’t safely clear the steep banks around the bridge.
What was needed, according to Town Supervisor Michael Sweeton, was "a spell of cold, dry weather” … and in mid-January, Mother Nature delivered.
'A great day for the community'So on Jan. 15, about 10 DPW crew members, using a combination of heavy equipment, hand tools and creative agility, managed to clear away the unsightly underbrush and give Warwick back it’s Old Stone Bridge.
“This beautiful and historic bridge, built in the 1790’s, had been swallowed up and now it’s back for all to see and enjoy”, said Warwick Town Historian Richard Hull. “It’s not a miracle, but it is a great day for the community.”
Restore and reinvigorate the WawayandaThe clearing of the bridge is just one part of the more ambitious Community2gether project to restore and reinvigorate the Wawayanda as a beautiful and historic recreational asset, one that residents and visitors alike can use for kayaking and canoeing.
“We’ll have our grand reopening paddle sometime this summer" if all goes as scheduled, said Wawayanda Committee member Marty Hayes. "And we have future plans to restore the creek all the way to the Wallkill River in New Jersey.”
This article and photos were provided by Geoff Howard, one of the
Community2gether Visioning organizers.