The gill finn Gallery: Northfield Mass. and Shelburne Falls Summer 2012/13

This little town in western Massachusetts has been 'frozen' in time. It never changes and hasn't since me and my brother and sisters came here as kids. It's the only town the Connecticut River splits in half along its winding route. The river originates from a tiny beaver damn, 300 yards from the Canadian border and flows south, 410 miles to Long Island Sound.

This super cheesy raft does the trick. It gets me out where no other boats will go.

In 1903 Schell Memorial Bridge, a 515 foot long steel cantilever truss bridge, was donated to the town of Northfield by one of its leading citizens, Francis R. Schell, who hoped to obtain easy access from his chateau in downtown Northfield to the East Northfield Railroad Station.

Schell Bridge is the third oldest of five Pennsylvania Truss Bridges and was designed by Edward S. Shaw, an important bridge engineer in Massachusetts from 1873 to 1919. Up until its closing, in 1985 Schell Bridge provided the town with easy transportation between the two sides of the village, which is divided by the Connecticut River.

In 1985 Schell Bridge was closed because it had deteriorated too far for safe use. Due to lack of funding, the bridge had not been adequately maintained.

MassDOT devised a plan to rehabilitate the bridge, but the town could not justify the costs of assuming responsibility for maintaining the rehabilitated structure.

In 1987, with no group willing to take on the responsibility of the bridge, the decision was made to tear it down. Demolition bids were made and contracts awarded in 1999, but the bridge has thus far not been torn down.

This is a shot of one of the 'footings' of an old rail bridge that's still in use. I've been under here when the trains roll overhead and the rust rains down.

The old rusty rail bridge.

Here are a couple of good shots of the Schell Bridge in the distance. This river is gorgeous in the summer and fall.

Dragonflies like to stop by and take a rest.

This bridge used to be painted green and all that's left of it is underneath away from the sun.

One of the best kept secrets of western Mass., Shelburne Falls, what a little doll of a town.

This picture was hanging on the wall of a little general store in the beautiful town of Shelburne Falls, Ma.

Flowers along the 'Bridge of Flowers' in Shelburne Falls.

The Connecticut River cuts beneath the Bridge of Flowers. This little bridge was a former trolley bridge.

Here you can see both bridges paralleling each other.

1910 trolley bridge, now bridge of flowers.

The Bridge of Flowers was once a trolley bridge built in 1908 by the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway. As the nearby Iron Bridge had only a 20-ton weight limit, the five-span, 400-foot concrete arched trolley bridge, connecting the towns of Shelburne and Buckland, was constructed to help deliver heavy freight from the Shelburne Falls railyard to the mills on the 7 1/2-mile line along Route 112 North to Colrain, as well as passengers and local goods, such as milk, apples and cotton.

The trolley was a "social and commercial connection" to area residents at that time. The railway company, however, was unable to keep up with progress, such as the invention of the automobile, as goods began to be hauled by truck and the company eventually went bankrupt in 1927.

Here's the Bridge of Flowers today (above).

In a letter to a local newspaper, Shelburne resident Clara S. C. Barnard recalled how the late Antoinette Burnham (Mrs. Walter E. Burnham) first had the idea of transforming the old trolley bridge into a bridge of beauty. Barnard insisted that Mrs. Burham told her how the thought came to [Antoinette] one day when she was occupied with household duties. She was more than busy in those days, striving to care for her family, because her husband had become an invalid. Busy as she was, she went to the doorway of her husband’s room and mentioned the idea to him. According to Barnard, Mr. Burnham typed out an article, which developed the idea.

Antoinette Burnham had the vision to take a community problem of a discontinued trolley bridge and turn it into a beautiful Bridge of Flowers.

According to The History and Traditions of Shelburne, Massachusetts published in 1958, the trolley bridge was an "eyesore." It was too expensive to destroy, yet it was not needed as a footbridge. It could not be destroyed partly because of expense and because it carried the water main to the Buckland side of the river. The Shelburne Falls Fire District purchased the bridge for $1,250.

This, and about 15 of the shots below it are taken from the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, Ma.

Once a year the town of Shelburne Falls, shuts down the cross town bridge and has a huge fund-raising dinner on the bridge. Tables and chairs are setup all across the bridge and it attracts a massive crowd.

This is the old Shelburne Trolley Depot just up from the town itself. There are trolley rides every day and a great trolley museum up there as well.

I always wonder when I see these old train cars just when was this rolling off the assembly line? How many souls rode inside, for how many years, and think of all the stories told within.

One of my favorite barn shots taken from the barn above this one. It was a really stormy day where I had a short window of opportunity just between the next storm thundering behind me.

Never have to walk outside in the nasty weather, just take the pedestrian 'barn' ramp between buildings.

You can see the two bridges in the distance just before the falls. Another storm is rolling into town.

This man does some amazing work and his studio is just off the street. You can walk through and watch him work and then enter the gallery and purchase it!

Here's a shot of the falls from a reverse angle.

There are more than 50 potholes here, ranging in diameter from 6'' to 40 feet in diameter. This is one of the largest known concentrations of glacial potholes in existence. Also the location of the largest pothole on record.

Outside the bookstore, Shelburne Falls.

The weight of the world on his wooden shoulders.

This little store is 'shoehorned' in just before the bridge.

Pops and my sister, Amy on the bridge in Shelburne Falls Ma., summer 2013.

Great shot on the 1890 bridge showing the bridge of flowers right next door.

There are some amazing artists/artisans in Shelburne too.

Pop, catching some news in the general store.

Windows from the bridge.

Look at the color in this stone!

This is the corner of a shed near the barn below. These were taken on the mountain above Shelburne on the way out of town.

I have a thing for interesting doorways.

This and the three shots below are from the Mormor gallery in Shelburne Falls. Carrie Keefe is the owner and she does an amazing job. Her gallery hosts a lot of work from area artists.