The Nicholson Bridge

In 1911 the idea for a massive viaduct to span this valley in Nicholson came into being. It would be an engineering feat even to day but imagine what it was in the early 1900's with the equipment available at that time. Design credit for the bridge goes to A. Burton Cohen, and engineer G. J. Ray and contractors Flickwer and Bush brought his design into reality.

The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad was owner and builder of the bridge. However they would not allow dynamite to be transported on their railway so it was shipped by another rail line, the Lehigh Railroad into Springville and transported to Nicholson by horse and wagon.

Ground was broken in May of 1912 and in January of 1913 the first concrete was poured. Piers had to be sunk to bedrock, which in one case was one hundred and thirty-eight feet. Another delay was encountered at one point in constructing the pier near the creek when a problem with quicksand had to be overcome. This pier rests on bedrock ninety-two feet below the surface.

View of the bridge from the rooad

Networks of reinforcing steel were installed when the wood forms were in place. Some of this steel measures two inches in diameter. Buckets of concrete were hoisted to the top, moved across the tramway and the concrete was dropped though the trapdoor bottoms of the buckets As they removed the wood forms they were reused while preparing for the next pier. It is believed that some of this wood was sold after the completion of the bridge and used in building homes in the village. It took twelve spans to make this majestic structure complete. Ten spans of 180 feet that are visible and two spans of 100 feet that are buried in the approaching hills. It took 163,000 cubic yards of concrete, 2,280,000 Ibs. of reinforcing steel and 185,000 bbls. of cement.

The legend of a person being buried in the Nicholson Bridge is truly just an interesting story. There are also stories about his ghost haunting the area or the bridge.

The magnificent view of the bridge is ever changing throughout the day. In the morning sun it looks white and by late afternoon it may look golden or pink as the sun starts to set. On a rainy day the bridge takes on a gray appearance. There is no other sight to compare with coming up Route 92 on a clear night and seeing a full moon "hanging in the arch" of the bridge.

Theodore Drieser said it best when he wrote "Hoosier Holiday". He stated "a thing colossal and impressive those arches!. How really beautiful they were. How symmetrically planned! And the smaller arches above, how delicate and lightsomely graceful! It is odd to stand in the presence of so great a thing in the making and realize that you are looking at one of the true wonders of the world."

Tourist Information...

Go to Pocono - Scranton Fun Guide.

Go to Pocono Directory

Go to Pocono free discount coupon Page

Go to HOUDINI MUSEUM

Go to LIST OF OVER 200 POCONO - SCRANTON HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS LISTED BY AREA.

Go to COMPREHENSIVE AND DETAILED LISTING OF LODGING CHOICES THROUGHOUT THE AREA.

Go to Scranton's Grand Railroad Stations built because of Scranton's Iron, Steel and coal.
Go to Old time posters for Lackawanna Railroad promoting clean (?) rides with Phoebe Snow.
Go to SCRANTON HISTORY. Historic Jewel of the Pocono Region.
Go to Tour 1 of Scranton. City skyline
Go to Tour 2 of Scranton. Government buildings
Go to Tour 3 of Scranton. A tour of Luna Amusement Park .
Go to Tour 4 of Scranton. A tour of the old coal mining area.
Go to Early theater history in Scranton.

Go to Stroudsburg History.
Go to Jim Thorpe History.
Go to Nicholson Bridge. World's Largest Concrete Bridge.
Go to East Stroudsburg History.
Go to Scranton & Wilkes Baree Ghost Walks.
Go to Scranton Paranormal Tours.
Go to Long running paranormal and seance event.
Go to Delaware Water Gap History.
Go to Outsidelinks

© 1997 by The Houdini Museum. No part of any of this document may be reproduced in any form, without written permission. The graphics have been retouched, computer enhanced and resized by the authors.




We supply the highest quality tourist information and entertainment for following local areas, as well as througout the world.

Scranton, Wilkes Barre, Hamlin, Stroudsburg, Mt. Pocono, Jim Thorpe, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Erie Reading Berks County Scranton Lackawanna County Bethlehem Lehigh and Northampton Counties Lehigh Valley Lancaster, Levittown, Bucks County Altoona, Blair County Harrisburg Penn Hills Allegheny County Wilkes-Barre Luzerne County York State College Centre County Chester Delaware County Bethel Park Mt. Lebanon Radnor Township Williamsport Lycoming County Shaler Township Monroeville Drexel Hill Upper Darby Township McCandless Plum Back Mountain New Castle Lawrence County Easton, Northampton County Lebanon McKeesport Hazleton West Mifflin Wilkinsburg Municipality of Murrysville Westmoreland County King of Prussia Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County Carlisle, Cumberland West Chester i Chambersburg Cumberland Valley Great Appalachian Valley. Franklin County Hampton Township Sharon, Mercer County, Hermitage Lansdale Willow Grove Montgomery County Greensburg, Westmoreland County Pottsville Schuylkill County, Washington Mountain Top Newark New Jersey Essex County. Jersey City Hudson County Paterson Passaic County, Elizabeth Union County, Edison Township Middlesex County Toms River Ocean County, Trenton Mercer County. Camden Clifton Passaic County East Orange Essex Passaic Union City Hudson County, Bayonne Irvington Vineland Cumberland County, Union Wayne Passaic County, New Brunswick, Plainfield Bloomfield Perth Amboy East Brunswick West New York West Orange Hackensack, Bergen County, Atlantic City Kearny Sayreville Linden Teaneck Montclair Hoboken North Brunswick Lakewood Ocean County, Belleville Ewing Pennsauken Fort Lee Orange Fair Lawn Bergen

Things to do

Shows for School Assemblies |School Show | Learn about magic's most dangerous stunt | Attractions for bus groups to do. | Book a room reservation in any city in the world | Various informative links | Take a cruise | Guide to cruises | One of the world's leading female magicians | Poconos PA online magazine of things to do | Where to go on a Honeymoon | Discounts for Honeymoons, Caesars, etc | Harry Houdini Information | World's only Museum attraction entirely devoted to Harry Houdini | Site dedicated to the Harry Houdini Seance | List of magic events | New site for magic auctions | Calendar of magic happenings | Dedicated to NY's Magic Towne House. | Travel the USA. Make reservvations | Auction site dedicated to magic | Attractions for mystery bus ride | mystery bus tour attractions | Attractions for mystery bus trip & field trips | Visit with a leading mystery paranormal and psychic entertainer | Spend a Paranormal Mystery Night out | petfoodrecipes | Camelot Design Free Graphics Boating Attractions in the Poconos | Pocono Mountains Attractions Directory | Pocono Mountain Attraction Index | Coupons for Pocono Mountains attractions | Discounts in the Poconos | Poconos Leading Attraction Guide | Getaway to the Pocono Mountains | Getaways in the Pocono Mountain Region | Discount Honeymoons in the Pocono Mountains | Honeymoon int the Poconos Mountain Region | Comprhensive directory of Pocono Mountain NE PA. Hotels | Restaurants in the Mountains of the Poconos | Pocono Honeymoon Information | The first auction site in Canada | http://Everything important to do in Scranton PA | Find and Reserve throughout the world | Comprehensive listing of magic events throughout the world | Blinky the birthday party clown in Scranton Wilkes Barre and the Poconos. | The Scranton PA clown's site. | Haunted events throughout the world that run most of the year. |

Web Sites of Interest

School Assembly Programs | School Shows | bulletcatch, magic's most dangerous | busgroups | CityDirectories | crosslinkz | Cruise Fun Guide | Cruise Line Guide | Dorothy Dietrich, Leading female magician | Guest Magazine | Honeymoon Directory | Honeymoon Discounts | Harry Houdini Museum exhibit Archives Harry HoudiniShowspot | Harry Houdini Seance | Magic Calendar | Magicians Auction | Magicians Calendar | NY's Magic Towne House | MagicUSA Travel reservations | Magic USA auctions | Mystery Bus Ride | Mystery Bus Tour | Mystery Bus Trip & field trips | Mystery Entertainer | Mystery Nights | Original Harry Houdini Seance in NY | Pet Food Recipes | Free Graphic for your website Pocono Boating | Pocono.net | Pocono.org | Pocono Coupons | Pocono Discounts | Pocono Fun Guide | Pocono Getaway | Pocono Getaways | Pocono Honeymoon | Pocono Honeymoons | Pocono Hotels | Pocono Restaurants | Pocono Rooms | Poconos Honeymoon | PolarAuctions | Psychic Evening | Psychic Night | Psychic Theater | Psychic Theatre Paranormalist News | Anime site | Scranton, PA | Supernormalist | Where To Find Travel | Comprehensive listing of magic events throughout the world | Pennsylvania's top birthday party clown. | Clown Site | Haunted events throughout the world that run most of the year. | Scranton Haunted Tours and Historic Ghost Walks in Scranton, PA. |

The best place for birthday parties of all ages in Scranton, PA |




END OF DOCUMENT