The 1800's Ghost Bridge Has Reemerged!

[@brettreidmiller7773]

That area is definitely in a moderate drought (per USDA), but the reason the reservoir is dry is because they intentionally drained it / allowed the water to lower in order to make repairs to the dam.

[@StandingStones1776]

Thanks !!!

[@jburnett8152]

I love seeing the craftsmanship of yesteryear. Stone bridge is very cool.

[@DallasD_]

So the reason that the bridge is in such amazing shape, is because it is usually underwater and not subject to the freeze-thaw cycles of ice getting in between the mortar joints that traditionally break masonry apart relatively quickly as compared to this survivor.

[@EricPepe]

lol the bridge is in amazing shape is because the bridge is from a prior advanced civilazation before us history is all lies

[@neilsheppard6673]

I love stuff like this, that bridge was amazing! There are many villages and hamlets here in the UK that were abandoned and flooded to create reservoirs, probably the best known is the Ladybower reservoir in Derbyshire where an entire village including cottages, houses, shops, an inn, a church, school and a stately house was flooded to create an enormous reservoir to supply water to the city of Sheffield. Many thanks Chris, greetings from the UK!

[@stubstoo6331]

Surprised nobody is metal detecting while the water is down.

[@MobileInstinct2]

I saw one person with a detector. Probably a good spot

[@TommyTheCat42]

Probably not allowed

[@fabergeegg1722]

LOL! I was just typing that question when I saw yours ,and I notice you beat me to it! Yes, can you imagine the artifacts what is located around there deep in the mud.

[@patmayer7222]

Some asshole is probably not letting people detect,,..go figure,..

[@RicArmstrong]

There's people metal detecting there, ive seen them

[@brandyjean7015]

The stonework in that old bridge is impressive.

[@paulaburrows8660]

You always find these wonderful little secret places that I don't see in other urbex vids.

[@trishagail353]

That is so interesting!! I love finds such as this bridge❤. Thanks Chris!!!

[@michaelblankenship548]

Reminds me of the Roman Aqueducts. Very sturdy method of construction. Those have been around for thousands of years, so this one will likely be around for a very long time.

[@mikedc3]

The railroad tracks are still there on the other side of the highway. If you noticed the big pipe to the right of the bridge, that goes under rt 23 and the RR. Also, there is another long stone arch culvert under an old road further back from 23.

[@UZEETM]

Loved the video. Please do more longer versions ❤

[@jrosnov]

Hi Chris,I love watching your videos Hi from Maine😊

[@kevinchagnot2656]

There's a place here in Pennsylvania where a whole town was flooded to make the Youghienny river lake its been so low that a bridge called the Great Passage bridge reemerged from the water it's old route 40 there's foundations and old car engines from the town that was there

[@janwarriner6554]

Fascinating. Didn’t know there’s a drought there. Bring out the metal detectors. Is there mortar on the bridge? HUGE reservoir.

[@MobileInstinct2]

No rain for quite a while. Hopefully it'll rain soon

[@leechjim8023]

I thought the Eastern U.S. has been deluged with rain recently, even taking lives!!😮

[@janwarriner6554]

@ in New Jersey right now they are in a drought causing multi state wild fires. It’s a mess.

[@akatopj22]

No motar,i was their a month ago.Its 20 min from my house

[@anthonycalbillo9376]

Hey, your last few videos didn't show up in my feed. Glad to see this one.

[@MyKingdomForAK9]

Tap his bell emoji, or, go to the emoji of that gear, and turn-on your KZbin notifications. I receive all of his videos, as alerts.☺️

[@MobileInstinct2]

I have this issue from time to time for some reason. Hopefully KZbin straightens it out

[@brendakrieger7000]

Oh very nice! Thank you for sharing! Many years ago I saw a hidden bridge at Lake Ontelaunee just outside of Leesport,Pa. Always so fascinating to see stuff like this!

[@DanPlusWater]

Greatful that yourself and others take the time to video/ document these former underwater structures. For eventually they will be submerged again, and who knows how long it will be until the water recedes again... Thank you... From Lansing, Michigan. Wishing you and your loved ones a great week.

[@rikspector]

I spent most of my life in New Jersey and explored much of the State, but there always is something new. You are doing a great service to those of us who grew up and travelled throughout our small but diverse State. My Great Grandfather had a Pool Hall and Tobacco shop in Somerville in the late 19th century. We've lived in Ferndale, WA since late August 2013, WE followed our family West, but I'm a Piney at heart:) I miss some things, like the Boardwalks and Beaches and the wonderful wildlife refuges, like Cape May. Thank you so much! Rik Spector

[@garydodson6737]

I wonder how many of those people are taking the time to learn the history of that bridge and the area. I doubt many. But it seems there's plenty of them leaving their trash there.

[@anthonycalbillo9376]

As a teacher, I cannot say why they are getting stuck in the mud.

[@josehernandez-gx7qz]

The reservoir was lowered for repair, it's not because of the drought.

[@researcherextraordinaire8867]

I guarantee you that bridge was built well before the 1800s. Its permanent construction and not temporary. A temporary bridge made from large timbers would have been constructed for transporting materials.

[@scpittman5769]

Went their after work its a pain to get down their to see it

[@szweed]

The Great Crossings Bridge at Youghiogheny River Lake in Pennsylvania is exposed due to low reservoir levels as well.... it's supposedly 200 years old.

[@johnnodge4327]

It's nice to see an exposed bridge which isn't dissimilar to those that get exposed when reservoirs are low in the UK. The construction techniques are very similar indeed, almost like that bridge was made by bridge builder's who emigrated to the UK.

[@grandaddyoe1434]

. . . . or from the UK ?

[@lukeamato423]

​@@grandaddyoe1434it's ok ,they're Americans

[@michelemiller1700]

Thank you for a great video. So wonderful

[@FayDougall]

This is very cool ! When you were showing the marks on the rocks from splitting , around 5:30 , it looked like a giant claw mark.That bridge was made back when people really worked .It's a historic landmark in itself.

[@aboyandhisdog]

I'm in Colorado and in the 1880's-1910's or so, they brought in Italian immigrant masons to build the infrastructure for the railroads and mines. Their workmanship was unrivaled. To this day the joints between the blocks seem to be nearly perfect. You'd be hard pressed to find blocks that have opened the joints more than ¼ inch. When your bridge was built before the flooding of the river, you probably had a very well built bridge with superb masonry.

[@nottodaymfnottodaymf9773]

Lol

[@laurenchristianna2092]

They did NOT do this work!

[@davidwayne68]

These exist everywhere. We are always finding things like this in the middle of woods etc.

[@joedirt6073]

Perfect example of how History is a set of lies agreed upon

[@Jacob1986]

This is really cool! I also enjoy the Lamont collabs too.

[@johnmartin7182]

mega channel / content been a big fan always the best

[@franks.jr.7236]

Same thing at the youghiogheny reservoir in Pennsylvania. The old somerfield bridge built I think 1835 and small town .

[@RichardSmith-bm2us]

I live 1/4 mile from this bridge. In case you weren’t aware you do need a permit to go on Newark’s property. The West Milford, Jefferson & Hatdyston police are having a feeding frenzy giving out trespassing tickets. Lots of Hisfory in this area. You weren’t far from the 18/19th century bootlegging village of Snufftown. These reservoirs and watershed have an interesting and very crooked history how the city of Newark acquired the land at the end of the 19th century. There was a man called Picnic Joe. Swindled the locals of the time out of their land. Another cool vid is of the last great hotel of this area called Idealease on Union Valley Rd. Thomas Edison would stay there. Very cool building. Thanks for all your vids. This very local history is fascinating. We should all be learning it!

[@marcgratkowski408]

The people can't go on the people's property. Awful.

[@Briarbuddy]

The water is down for repair at the dam.

[@jennbell4251]

This is a post I found on a local community page ( I live reasonably close to this area) reposting a little history… Over the years, Ron Dupont has researched and written many historical articles. This is one of my favorites about the “The Ghost Bridge of Oak Ridge Reservoir”. The article appeared in the former “Aim Vernon”. Posting it in its entirety. "Once a decade or so--if you’re lucky--a specter rises from the waters of Oak Ridge Reservoir. A handsome reminder of times agone, it stays for a bit--a few weeks, maybe a month or more--and then vanishes again, not to be seen for perhaps a generation. It’s a ghost, but not the human kind. It’s a bridge. If you travel Route 23, you’ve passed it hundreds of times, probably. But you’ve probably never seen it, because 99.9 percent of the time it’s underwater. I got to thinking of this bridge recently while going through some old photographs. The photo accompanying this column is one I took of the bridge some 30-odd years ago, when Oak Ridge Reservoir was the lowest it had been in decades (you can see Route 23 on the embankment beyond the bridge). This exposed the bridge nicely. It has been thus exposed by low water perhaps once in the years since. You can locate this bridge (or at least, the spot of water it’s under) by travelling on Route 23 about a mile south of its intersection with Canistear Road. At this spot, southwest and right next to the highway, a narrow tongue of Oak Ridge Reservoir snakes its way up along the base of the mountain. This follows the original route of the Pequannock River. The bridge here crossed the Pequannock River between the present-day townships of West Milford, in Passaic County on the northeast side of the river, and Jefferson, in Morris County, on the southwest side of the river. As you can see in the photo, it’s a triple-arch bridge made of neatly dressed stone block. About 100 feet long and 30 feet wide, at its tallest point it rose about 20 feet above the Pequannock. A big bridge. A solid bridge. In its day, a very expensive bridge to build. What’s its story? The Route 23 corridor through the Highlands, paralleling the Pequannock much of the way, has been a travel corridor for ages. It was a route through the Highlands used during Colonial times and was likely used by the Native Americans as well. Its present importance dates back over two centuries. In the interest of providing a good, solid highway for transporting iron and ore, timber, agricultural goods and other commodities from northern New Jersey down to the busy commercial areas of Passaic County, a turnpike was built. This was the Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike, built in 1806, a toll road. This and the Newark-Pompton Turnpike later became modern Route 23. Since it charged tolls, the turnpike had income to improve its facilities, and from 1806 to about 1814, the Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike was graded, improved, and new bridges and other amenities constructed. I can’t say for sure, but I would not be surprised if our bridge dated to the years right after 1806, as the turnpike was being built and improved. There’s a bridge over Wichecheoke Creek in Hunterdon County that, in style and construction, is very similar to this bridge; that one dates to 1801. But it could also be much later, or even earlier--stone bridge design and construction was a very conservative field, and not much changed until the introduction of iron beams and trusses in the late 1800s and poured concrete around 1900. At this location, the bridge would have carried the Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike south over the Pequannock River, where in a short distance the turnpike passed through the little hamlet of Wallace Corner, and shortly after that, through the original town of Oak Ridge. Both are long gone, torn down, their locations submerged beneath the reservoir. The bridge was clearly built to carry the kind of heavy commercial traffic the Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike would have seen--teams of horses and oxen carrying big wagons of farm goods, pig iron, and timber. It carried it for less than a century, though. In 1889, the City of Newark began acquisition and construction of its reservoir system, and one of the first ones it built was where the Pequannock passed by the little village of Oak Ridge. Everything in the way of the reservoir was torn down--except for this bridge. I suspect it was for the simple reason that it gave construction crews and teams a very convenient way to cross the Pequannock, hence it was left in place. However, it looks like the bridge had stone wall railings originally, and those are gone. Oak Ridge Reservoir was completed by the mid-1890s, and the old stone bridge has spent almost all of the last 120 years underwater. After they finished Oak Ridge, they built Canistear Reservoir, which was completed in 1900. The primary purpose of Canistear was to keep Oak Ridge and other reservoirs further downstream "topped off," one reason the bridge is so rarely seen. That’s had one positive effect, however: it’s still in quite good shape. Submerged, it is mostly immune to the freeze-thaw cycles that are the mortal enemy of stone block structures everywhere. Thus, in its watery grave, it has achieved a kind of immortality. If we get a drought one of these years, you might just be able to check it out. But don’t wait too long--the rains come eventually, and then the ghost bridge sinks back beneath the placid surface of Oak Ridge Reservoir".

[@-FALKOR]

Neat

[@The_Dudester]

I grew up in New Mexico and during the summer, water from the Rio Grande river is funneled off to irrigation ditches. In September, the water flow to the irrigation ditches is cut off. People will walk in the mud of the ditches to look for crawdads and the occasional catfish.

[@tracysmith3076]

Super cool video. Thanks for showing us.

[@vickisawyer7405]

The shoes in the mud remind me of something that happened years ago and a long ways away. Getting stuck in a fish hopper, full of fish in Dutch Harbor, and being pulled out by my shoulders and seeing my boots being left behind in the fish.

[@Cozy4evr]

Nice u have to take a drive and see this very intersection thanks for the research and info

[@MrRMB1]

There's on just outside of Pittsburgh as well. It was just deemed unsafe and the public is no longer permitted to climb on it. These are super cool!

[@crazyburkey3677]

Hundreds of years from now, people will wonder why all the shoes are there😂

[@krockpotbroccoli65]

The way they broke the rocks apart is using the "feather & wedge" method. You drill a line of holes in the stone and insert a wedge with "feathers" on either side in each hole like this : \v/. Then hammer down on each wedge and gradually the stone will split apart along your drill line. Im a stone fabricator and we still occasionally use this method for breaking apart particularly large, unwieldy stones.

[@cwf081166]

Laziness or convenience. People have passed doing both.

[@noeraldinkabam]

It’s not because of drought. They have to do maintenance on the dam and thus drained the reservoir.

[@eily_b]

When I was kid in the 80s they drained a massive reservoir in the South of Germany because they had to repair the dam. We went there because my Dad said this is a once in a lifetime thing and it had also a bridge in it because they flooded a village back then and the most interesting part for me was that the greensward had begun to loosen from the ground and roll down under water and left enormous rolls of grass. As if a giant had rolled them down the reservoir under water. They had the size of a house in height. Authorities made pathways for people to walk there and there were also massive mud pits but we were not allowed to walk through them because... Germany. They look after people 😉 I will never forget how deep the reservoir was and how weird it looked. Oh, and they did cut down the trees but left the stumps. They were all grey and dead looking now, no bark left. Looked like another world. I don't know if yt allows the link here hence I will add it in a seperate comment so that this comment will not be deleted. The images are quite the same...

[@derekandjo75]

Old world construction

[@mgratk]

I wouldn't characterize goofing around in the mud as necessarily dumb or lazy.

[@tashasmith6179]

Very fascinating.

[@JLCra87]

It would be nice if the state would fund a bit of maintenance while the water is down. Maybe redo some of the pointing within the stones. I know it will be flooded again, but might help it to last another hundred or two years.

[@brianmc7292]

Scythian or Tartarian built. Modern stuff isn’t built to survive resets.

[@kevinbissett293]

How long has the bridge been exposed? Love your channels? Mobile Instinct and Mobile Instinct 2

[@Eric_Blair1903]

Goto the opposite side of the reservoir and look for Schoolhouse road. This is where it cam out to the original Rt23 before they flooded the valley. You can follow the dirt road right into the reservoir. You can see the old road bed in drought years…..

[@19ADAM80]

Fix up a lot of good brush piles to fish while the water is down..

[@DanielLDavis-df3uy]

beautiful old bridge, thanks for sharing. How long do you reckon it will take before ( sadly) graffiti takes over?

[@Liz-cmc313]

Very cool.

[@jendagesse4524]

Hopefully no one destroys the bridge

[@apocyldoomer]

Very interesting.

[@valerieteti1755]

If you Google earth “rt 23 oak ridge NJ” it shows the location of the ghost bridge in the reservoir. There’s a thumbnail pic so you can see how much water there should be covering it.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

*_"Mud is...mud."_* - FARSCAPE

[@user-rovvt3]

where is lamont?

[@aaron71]

With the drought this year I wonder what other reservoirs are low and showing hidden history !

[@jamessickmore236]

authorities say its not because of drought, they are doing maintenance

[@helmski]

Although we are in a drought situation, this reservoir is intentionally drained.

[@ColAuctioneer]

The people you watched with Kids. Not lazy a teaching moment for the kids. Better Mom & Dad Be there when you first learn. But what a kool Bridge

[@scottrider641]

I can't imagine the amount of Labor it took to build that and how many workers worked on it

[@mikemccann6319]

Swedges is what they used to split the rocks. Dan Hurd Mining on KZbin shows you how they are used

[@Fatt_Tony]

I wish i wasnt half of the continent away from new jersey id really like to see it in person

[@metaldave08096]

We’ve got some cool sites but we’ve also got out share of not so cool things.

[@Fatt_Tony]

@metaldave08096 I recall an earlier time in my life in Massachusetts. More of the not so cool there too

[@MrPvtrandall]

Imagine a bridge made today being submerged for even 50 years. It would be nearly corroded and falling apart.

[@scorpman300]

i think when these lakes and water bodies get low like this that the state should come in and clean them up, remove trash, boats, cars, and anything that dont belong there

[@Ria_J]

Cops put up cones and no parking signs now. Party’s over!!!

[@thatbikeguyyt]

5 minutes from my house. converted just like stone town however they just flooded the houses at stone town i believe.

[@arrowkart4j]

The town is now writing tickets for people parking along the road. It’s become a problem. I’m from that area.

[@summerdragonfly]

👍🏻✌🏻

[@journeywithjay]

I was literally thinking about going here lol.

[@workingunderwater]

HaHaa They stuck in the mud!

[@adamkleppy9651]

thats lamonts croc he wears crocs haha

[@mcnally211]

Its not because of the drought, they lowered the reservoir

[@user-xv3zp8gl7j]

Fun fact thats were the oakridge boys are from.

[@GeorgiaRidgerunner]

you know manufacturers should take note of such things like this in the world we live in today where almost every thing we use daily has wifi blue tooth or some sort of computer chip in it when things simpler times appear people flock by the thousands to see it things from the past that werent computerized chipped or bluetoothed up are highly coveted and expensive i see simplicity as pretty much an untapped market admittedly i do use these computered up products but i also refuse to let go of the simpler things i heat my house solely with wood i still own a dvd player vcr and crt tv i have a radio with cassette tape player in it i have modern things as well but prefer my older simpler things simplicity is an untapped market that needs to be tapped into people want simpler things

[@naderthomas690]

Did you find any skeletons?

[@SecretlySeven]

I've been watching every video I see about this. Waiting to find someone who will speak about what was done. Who was displaced. Were they forced? Let's open a dialogue about why we're such poor custodians of our history. We bury stuff like this for dollar general stores and no one talks about it.

[@Boxycar79]

It’s illegal to be there. Police monitor the area

[@edwardmullins2716]

they drained the water for workers to work some where up river not the drought

[@lukeamato423]

It was drained . Not because droughts

[@shelleywalling3650]

New Yorkers😆

[@brianbloom1799]

I would be bringing my metal detector, I bet there's lots of loss coins and other Items of value

[@ultimatestp]

look on the website !! wow so dumb no studying SAD

[@TravB1988]

A warning to anyone who plans to visit stay out of the reservoir that local authorities are ticketing trespassers and towing vehicles that are illegally parked on the side of the road.

[@DrHenry1987]

Gosh, lighten up on the mud crossers and have some fun. You have no adventure.

[@michaelgbooks]

Does he ever make an accurate video??😂 they drained it on purpose

[@lanatrzczka]

Why did you call it the Ghost Bridge? I feel that's kind of jumping on the social media bandwagon for views.

[@mgt5009]

The bridge is believed to have been built around 1806-1816 is anyone is wondering and if it hasn’t been mentioned

[@laurenchristianna2092]

Much older than that Obviously.

[@MarkGovern]

It was likely built in the 1800s so it can’t be super old.

[@davidwayne68]

Drills didn't exist in 1800's

[@Navyjim]

They absolutely did

[@davidwayne68]

@@Navyjimprove it?

[@Navyjim]

@@davidwayne68 the first mechanized percussive drill was invented in 1844.....hit up Google

[@Navyjim]

@@davidwayne68 the rotary drill was invented in 1845.... Do a Google search

[@laurenchristianna2092]

​@@davidwayne68Prove drills Didn't exist then. You are the one who firstly made that uneducated statement.

[@harvardarchaeologydept3799]

If that were in NY……they have the money to preserve it with a museum next to it and divert the water away from the bridge. Finished project in 2years. NY government money.

[@quagini69]

a classic case of social media sheeple

[@richardkeller4193]

I'LL BET THEY KNOW THAT THIS WASN'T CAUSED BY DROUGHT. IT'S YOU THAT'S NOT VERY SMART.