Dix Bridge

Dix Bridge. Hudson Crossing Park. , The Dix Bridge was constructed in 1893 to provide a free crossing between the milling manufacturing, shopping and shipping centers of the Village of Schuylervile and the Hamlet of Thomson. Lumber merchant and hamlet namesake Lemon Thompson and Daniel A. Bullard owner of the Schuylerville Paper Co. were responsible for the bridge that connected the two communities. There were already two privately constructed toll bridges across the Hudson, but this bridge was the only one that was free to all pedestrians and vehicles., Work began on June 3, 1895 and three months later. Bullard and Thompson were the first to cross it. The Schuylerville Standard newspaper raved, “It is now possible for people on the other side of the river to come to this town to trade without having to pay a tax for the privilege.” The bridge became known as the Free Bridge., It would be many years before the bridge was renamed after local manufacturer and politician John Alden Dix. Dix was the son-in-law of Thompson and eventually took over the Thompson Mills, developing it into the expansive Iroquois Paper Mill. He also served as New York State Governor from 1911 to 1912., Today, the Dix Bridge links pedestrian, bicycle, and snowmobile trails in Washington and Saratoga counties. Once closed due to disrepair, it was rehabilitated and reopened in 2013 as a result of multi-partner commnity effort, using federal, state and local funding as well as private donations., [Captions:] , Iroquois Paper Mill 1909 Courtesy of Greenwich Town Historian, Headline from the Schuylerville Standard 1895. Courtesy of Old Fulton NY Post Card website, John Alden Dix with his wife Gertrude Alden Thompson Dix c. 1910. Courtesy of Flickr Commons project.