Brownstone Arch

The Holt Brothers and Redding Iron Works of California manufactured and shipped logging arches throughout the United States in the late 1800's. Pulled by teams of oxen, arches were used in Portland to transfer cut brownstone from the quarries. A local quarry company donated this arch to the town in 1914. It was kept outdoors and the wood rotted. In 1969 it was rebuilt, and again the wood decayed over time. In 1999, Eddie and Joseph Chiabrero and William P. Long of Portland rebuilt the arch in their workshop on Cotton Hill Road, using their mill to saw the white oak lumber. They hand crafted square washers and did the forging, bending and fitting iron to its original shape. The three men also donated wood bolts and countless hours of labor to the town, and Hillside Welding Company of Middletown donated all the iron. The arch was renovated by the Chiabrero Brothers and William Long for the town to treasure for years to come, and restoration was completed in 2002.

Portland, Connecticut · United States