Built to carry New York Central Railroad traffic over Rondout Creek near Kingston, it was moved to its current location in 1904.

[1] The bridge was originally the smallest of three spans in a 1,200-foot (370 m) viaduct-bridge combination along the former West Shore Line at the mouth of Rondout Creek in Kingston, 50 miles (80 km) to the north.

It was built in 1883 by Clarke, Reeves & Company, a Philadelphia-based subsidiary of the Phoenix Iron Works as a 29-foot-wide (8.8 m) double-tracked structure, known administratively within the Central as Bridge 141.

At the same time, New York City was beginning to buy, clear and flood land for its water supply system in the Croton River watershed.

In 1976, a survey team from the Historic American Engineering Record found that it remained in good condition despite the lack of maintenance or use.

[1] Its presence on New York City watershed land, where public access is tightly restricted, has helped preserve it as well.