Boon's Bridge, Prospect, N.Y.
The village of Prospect, New York is a small village located within the greater Town of Trenton. It rests between route 365 and the West Canada Creek that flows out of Hinckley Lake.
Map of Prospect, New York courtesy of www.city-data.com
Prospect was a bustling community in the 1800s and early 1900s. Many local folklore and historical tales began right there.
The first we will explore is Boon's Bridge, located on Military road right on the village and county line. Boon's Bridge spans a chasm of the Trenton Gorge below Prospect Falls, that the West Canada Creek travels through.
Boon's Bridge
View of the chasm
Nov. 2014
Stories:
One of my favorite stories about Boon Bridge is the story of the farmer who crossed the bridge at night while it was under construction, somehow not slipping off the narrow boards thrown across the chasm. The farmer was from Russia, N.Y., and knew nothing of the construction. While riding horseback one dark night, he passed the bridge in the usual way, thinking nothing of the feat. It was not until villagers brought him back to see that the bridge was nearly impassable before he realized how close he had come to disaster.
This photo came from Wikipedia. The caption said that the photographer was kicked off of the property shortly after the photo was taken.
Another fun story about Boon's Bridge is the story about the little old lady and the justice of the peace. The justice had been trying to serve legal papers to the woman for a long time. She had been accused of harboring transgressors of the law, including some of her own relatives. The story goes that one day he showed up at her home, but she had seen him coming. She had taken off running across the bridge, where the county line changes to Herkimer County, where the justice had no authority. The story goes that there was a foot chase, but the old lady outran him.
Boon's Bridge, Trenton Gorge.
Sign near the bridge.
How did Boon's Bridge get that name?
The first bridge that was erected at the site was a structure supported by limestone blocks piled tightly against the chasm wall, according to Tales from the Adirondack Foothills, by Howard Thomas.
The bridge was named after Gerritt Boon, an agent of the Holland Land Company, who founded the settlement of Barneveld nearby. Some say he was attracted by the abundance of maple tree syrup, according to the village of Barneveld website.
In 1795 Boon explored new company land to the north and started the settlement now known as Boonville. In 1795 Boon returned to Leyden, Holland.














