The 1857 Buskirk Covered Bridge is the name of the hamlet in which it is located and is in the town of Hoosick, Rensselaer County, New York. It is the only inter-county covered bridge in New York State, joining Rensselaer and Washington Counties, and is owned and maintained by both counties. The bridge, which crosses the Hoosic River is one of 29 historic covered bridges in New York State. The nearby hamlet was named after the local Van Buskirk family. This single span of 158 feet crossing the Hoosic River was built by Peter Osterhauth, Charles Newman, and James Roberts. 

Town and Howe truss designs were patented by Ithiel Town in 1820 and William Howe in 1840, respectively. The Buskirk Bridge, a Howe truss design, was built to replace a previous Burr arch truss. It is perhaps the earliest Howe truss bridge that survives in New York State and continues in use for vehicles.

Martin van Buskirk and his brothers were Revolutionary War veterans. Legend has it that the van Buskirk families were ferrymen prior to 1804. When Martin married one of Stephen Rensselaer’s daughters he benefited from her considerable dowry, which included 1,800 acres of land on both sides of the Hoosic River.

The river crossing at Buskirk is at a point where the Hoosick River widens into broad flood plains. In 1804, this location was deemed suitable for the construction of mid-channel piers for the support of a multiple-span log bridge. Springtime ice breakup or heavy summer storms can suddenly make the river a raging, destructive torrent and a more sophisticated bridge was built in 1812.

The present bridge at Buskirk was originally commissioned to be built by the towns of Cambridge and Hoosick. Construction began after July 21, 1857, and was completed before November 14, 1857. In 1880, a flood caused extensive damage. Then in the flood of 1927, which swept away many covered bridges in the area, there were two feet of water over the floor of the Buskirk Covered Bridge. In 1959, ice pushing against the bridge caused it to bow more than afoot in the middle. Ice again damaged the bridge in 1976. After a damaging flood in May that same year the bridge was raised two more feet.

Buskirk’s 20th-century history is peppered with ‘yellow flags’ and ‘red flags’ issued by New York State bridge inspectors. A yellow flag indicates the inspector’s concern about a condition that needs attention but is not an immediate safety issue. A red flag indicates a serious structural flaw that must be addressed within 24 hours. Possible remedies include repairing, closing the bridge, and or lowering the posted load limit. The posted load limit has been as low as 1½ tons in 1930, and as high as 6 tons in 1960. At the time it was closed in August of 2002, it was posted for 3 tons.

In 2004-2005, the Buskirk Covered Bridge experienced complete rehabilitation.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 8, 1972.

Located at:  N42 57.495    W73 25.988     -     WGCB #32-42-58-02 /32-58-04 #2

Photographed in May 2023