The bridge is near the old Indian Crossing Site or Indian Wading Place, which has been found to have been used as a crossing as far back as 13,500 years.
CHICOPEE — On June 29, I was on the new William F. Davitt Memorial Bridge, watching construction workers and paving contractors completing work on the span. It was an extraordinary event, considering the fact that opening of the new bridge was 13 months ahead of schedule.
In December 2006, the Chicopee Historical Commission received its first letter from Brona Simon. At that time, Simon was the acting executive director of the state Historical Commission. It was our first communication regarding the state's intention to replace the Davitt Memorial Bridge in Chicopee Center.
In her letter, she outlined the plan, "The project entails replacement of the existing bridge superstructure and reconstruction of the approach roadways between Front Street and Granby Road. The proposed structure, comprising steel girders with a concrete slab and asphalt, overlay will be the same footprint as the existing bridge. The new bridge design is to include concrete 'Texas' railings and ornamental lighting standards that emulate the existing standards. Roadway approach work will include new sidewalks with ADA-compliant ramps, drainage improvements, new signing and pavement markings."
In the letter, the state Historical Commission referred to the location as being adjacent to the Indian Crossing Site. The Indian Crossing Site (Old Indian Wading Place) is today approximately where the Interstate 391 bridge crosses the Chicopee River.
Clik here to view.
University of Massachusetts archaeology students are shown excavating the Indian Crossing Site in 1979, prior to construction of the Interstate 391 crossing of the Chicopee River. The site has been traced as a crossing as far back as 13,500 years. In 1979, prior to highway construction, the Institute for Conservation Archaeology at the Peabody Museum, Harvard, worked with students from the University of Massachusetts to examine the site as thoroughly as possible before construction began.
The first covered bridge across the Chicopee River was constructed in 1783 at a cost of 200 pounds. The bridge was built in a rocky shallow area called the "Indian wading place."
The site selection goes all the way back to the year 1665. The settlement on the north side of the Chicopee River was growing as members of the Chapin family built homesteads.
The Springfield selectmen decreed that a common way be laid out about 20 rods from the islands near the river mouth at what is called the wading place. The common way was to be from "7 to 8 to 20 rod broad." This layout of the common way remains today as Route 116 or Chicopee Street.
In the year 1864, Northampton's Isaac Damon would construct a new covered bridge, reinforcing the original piers imbedded in the shale. Damon designed the bridge after the same lattice pattern developed by Ithiel Towne.
Damon had built bridges all over the country. His Chicopee bridge would stand for 85 years.
In 1903, then-Mayor Denis Murphy, in his annual report, called for the construction of a modern new span at the old wading place. A new steel bridge spanned the Connecticut River at Willimansett, and plans called for a new steel bridge linking Chicopee and West Springfield.
In his report, the mayor indicated that the nearly 60-year-old Damon span was in excellent condition. The problem was that covered bridges were a relic of the 19th century, especially in the age of the automobile.
For the next 20 years, a succession of Chicopee mayors would call for the construction of a new Chicopee Center bridge.
In the 1920s, the old bridge was the scene of many fires, acts of vandalism and general misbehavior that kept the police and fire departments very busy.
Finally, in 1930, Mayor Henry Cloutier's administration secured state funds for a new bridge. Plans for a $200,000 concrete and steel span were finalized.
In 1931 construction began on a new reinforced concrete bridge. The span was constructed alongside the old bridge.
The new structure was designed by B.A. Annable and built by the Springfield construction firm of Fred T. Ley and was completed in a matter of three months.
Construction projects were few and far between in 1931. Combined with the Great Depression's collapsing wage scale and outstanding summer weather, the project was completed well ahead of schedule.
The University of Massachusetts students never published their findings. The funding provided by the federal Highway Administration was spent on the excavation itself, leaving little for later analysis and publication.
A recent federal grant provided funding for the reorganization and evaluation of old collections related to federal highway projects, including material from the Indian Crossing Site. The Chicopee Historical Commission received several copies of the fascinating 60-page booklet.
Complied by Brian Jones, "The Indian Crossing Site in Chicopee, Massachusetts" traces the river's historic bedrock crossing to the Paleoindians of the Ice Age, 13,500 years ago. Four copies are in the history room at Emily Partyka main branch of the Chicopee Public Library on Front Street.
The new bridge is the fourth span anchored on the river's ancient bedrock.
Stephen R. Jendrysik, a retired history teacher, is Chicopee city historian, a member of the Chicopee Historical Society's board of directors and president of the Edward Bellamy Memorial Association.