Queen’s Bridge
To the casual observer, there is little to indicate the historical significance of this particular bridge crossing. Yet for at least 240 years it has been an important point in the Raritan Valley and has figured in many events that have transpired here.
During the American revolution this bridge was used at various times by both American and British armies. At this spot on January 4, 1777, General George Washington made the final decision to abandon any intention of attacking New Brunswick. He instead moved his army northward to winter quarters at Morristown. Thus ended the victorious Trenton-Princeton campaign, saving the revolution.
The first bridge across the Raritan River in this area was completed during the fall of 1761. In 1762, the general assembly paged an act “to empower the managers of the Bound Brook Bridge to raise by lottery a sum of money for rebuilding and completing said bridge”. The 1767 Somerset County road survey described it as a “wood frame bridge”.
In 1771 another act was passed to raise funds to maintain the bridge herein “known by the name of the Queen’s Bridge”. Sometime later, the Queen’s Bridge became a covered wooden bridge. It was next replaced by a classic steel pipe truss bridge in 1875. The stone piers under today’s span (built in 1984) date back to at least 1875.
Marker is on Main Street, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
