Locust Bridge

In the late 1800s, a bridge built from locally cut locust trees crossed West Brook to an area called Paradise, giving Mr. Cutting a direct route to the South Side Sportsmen's Club, where he was a member. At 250 feet long and 20 feet wide, it had room for a horse-drawn carriage and later cars, and in later years Mrs. Cutting drove her electric car across it to have lunch at the club. The shores at each end were planted with a variety of flowers, while the surrounding area remained the only part of the Cutting estate left in its natural state, where Mrs. Cutting enjoyed walking the trails. The name Paradise came after the Cuttings' daughter Olivia, taken there as a little girl, exclaimed, "This is Paradise!" The family and staff thereafter used that name for the area. The bridge was dismantled in the early 1960s, and at low tide the remains of its wooden support structure can still be seen.

Great River, New York · United States