Watsontown River Bridge

The Watsontown River Bridge is an unusual example of a long, multiple-span, open spandrel, arch bridge. It was built in 1927 and contains nine arches. While these arches appear to be standard ribbed open-spandrel arches, it is very unusually that the bridge has solid barrels (the bottom of the bridge) instead of individual arch ribs. The barrels carry transverse walls, instead of the standard spandrel-post-to arch-rib configuration. The bridge also features ornamental piers and light posts.

This bridge had numerous challenges in getting approved and paid for. William C. Brimmer was elected as the Chief Burgess (Mayor) of Watsontown in 1909, with his primary purpose being to get the bridge project approved. It took seventeen years of battling through Pennsylvania’s court system and the state legislature to get the bridge approved. Instead of the construction costs being split equally between the counties, Northumberland County took on 85% of the cost (based on population). The Northumberland Commissioners complained about the cost and how it would bankrupt them.

Construction finally started on July 12th, 1927, and the bridge was dedicated in a ceremony on July 4th, 1928. However, the bridge was not opened, because there was no suitable road access on the Union County side. This problem continued until 1930, when the state took over all county bridge, and built a suitable access road.

The bridge was renamed the Nurse Helen Fairchild Bridge in Memorial Day Ceremonies in 2003, in honor of a World War 1 nurse who died in France in 1917.