page_title: Cedar Hill (New Haven)
section_title: Landmarks
hierarchical_section_title: Cedar Hill (New Haven) / Landmarks
caption_attribution_description: English: Ferry Street Railroad Bridge, Ferry Street over New Haven Railroad, New Haven, New Haven, CT
context_page_description: Cedar Hill is a neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut. It includes portions of the city-designated neighborhoods of East Rock, Quinnipiac Meadows, and Mill River.
  Cedar Hill was named for cedar trees that were once plentiful there in 1665. The area was divided from the local surroundings by the construction of I-91 in the 1960s.
  Cedar Hill's boundary runs from James Street, up the Mill River, to Rice Field, over Indian Head Rock, to the Hamden town line, across to Middletown Avenue, to the Eastern side of State Street, back up to James Street.
context_section_description: Ferry Street Railroad Bridge is significant as a representative example of standard 20th century truss construction; as a product of Boston Bridge Works, a regionally important bridge fabricator; and as part of the New Haven Railroad's extensive improvements to its freight facilities in Cedar Hill, New Haven, CT.
  Between 1910 and 1913, the railroad built a large new classification yard in the northeast part of New Haven, the Cedar Hill Terminal, in order to consolidate and expand its freight operations. In connection with that work, the railroad right-of-way was then further widened to accommodate more tracks, and electrification was extended to the new Cedar Hill yards. The widening required a new bridge at Ferry Street. The bridge was entirely paid for by the railroad with the exception of $316.92 paid by the city of New Haven for a temporary bridge during construction.
  Cedar Hill Coal Tower - a stop for many. This was a coaling tower for refueling steam locomotives for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad at the "hump". West Hump was closed by the NH during the 1960s, but was briefly reopened in the early Penn Central era to relieve snow-related congestion at Selkirk, NY during the "Lindsay Storm of 1969". East Hump was closed by Conrail in April 1980.
  Bishop Gate - on State Street across from the old New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad YMCA - The first road to the top of East Rock was called the Old Stewart's Road. It started near Rice Field in Cedar Hill, up to the summit via the dip between East Rock and Indian Head. The newly formed Parks Commission constructed Indian Head Drive in 1890 which started at Bishops Gate (Mrs. John Bishop sold a good part of her land to the parks department, the land going down to Rock Road at the time) on State Street and over Snake Rock, Indian Head and to the top of East Rock. Bishops Gate has been closed off to motor vehicles due to falling rocks, but the two red traprock pillars still mark the start of a fantastic trail for biking and joggers.
  Snake Rock - The source of the stones used in the construction of Bishops Gate is a broad mass of trap measuring 900 feet (270 m) by 450 feet (140 m) in its two diameters lying encased in sandstone. The height on the rock's eastern side is 160 feet (49 m) and on the west side over 200 feet (61 m). The traprock covers the eastern slope, while the sandstone covers the western slope. At the south end of the rock, behind the property lines on the north side of Rock Street, at a junction of the trap and sandstone, the dip measures about 45°.
  Snake Rock contains a half-emerged laccolith, its summit exposed, but with the western wall of sandstone still standing and overtopping the trap. The sandstone shows everywhere the effects of metamorphism, and before industrial encroachments on the rock in the 19th century there was a prominence of columnar sandstone in the southwestern bluff.
  English Gate - Also locally sourced and built in 1890. It is located at the intersection of Rock and View Streets where they end and English Drive begins. It was named after Governor James Edward English who donated a significant amount (along with two others) to the building of the park. One of several vehicular entrances to East Rock Park, English Gate offers the longest, and the most scenic, drive to the summit of East Rock.
caption: Ferry Street truss bridge in Cedar Hill
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