Robert Gilchrist's bridge, the first suspension one over the Hudson River, was dedicated on September 8, 1871, with a great public celebration, complete with a steam locomotive and boxcars and a picnic. However, it turned out that there wasn't enough food, but, alas, plenty of speeches.
The bridge was described as being about 25 feet above the normal water level, 15 feet wide and with a span of 230 feet.
Plans had a railroad depot to be constructed and passenger service could detrain and catch a stagecoach to local towns
Sadly, however, Gilchrist's bridge was not to last for very long. On April 1, 1873, the cables on one side of the bridge gave way after a very heavy snowstorm, causing the bridge to hang upside down on the remaining cable. Later that spring, the bridge was removed so as not to impede the spring logging drive on the river.
Gilchrist returned to Charleston and remained there the rest of his life other than infrequent trips back to the Adirondacks where he began selling off his inherited land.
--Old Secesh
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