Friday, June 10, 2016

New England's Natural Bridge

New England's Natural Bridge is a Massachusetts state park located in North Adams, Massachusetts, in the northwestern part of the state. Its natural bridge arches over a roaring brook -- carved out over the course of 500 million years by glacial meltwater -- to form the only natural white marble bridge in North America. IT'S MARBLEOUS!!

Formerly the site of a marble quarry (1810-1947), and then a privately-owned tourist attraction (1951-1983), the site became a state park in 1985, to preserve its unique geologic features. The arch, and its associated marble block dam, and quarry have long been the hidden attraction in this old mill town. And it had garnered the attention of photographers, artists, and writers; including Nathaniel Hawthorne, who, in 1838, wrote of his visits in his book, Passages from the American Notebooks of Nathaniel Hawthorne.